An early economic forecast of last month's jobs climate predicts the American economy added 57 thousand jobs in February.
That's far fewer than the 100 thousand jobs the Labor Department is expected to report on Friday.
The numbers come from Automatic Data Processing, which reports that most of the job growth came in the service sector.
But those increases were dampened by losses in goods-providers and manufacturing.
Still unemployment levels are low for most of New Hampshire.
But ex-offenders struggle to find jobs after being released from prison.
And research shows that those who stay unemployed are much more likely to commit new crimes.
Federal probation officers recently held an event to bring employers and ex-offenders together.
NHPR Correspondent Brian Early reports from Manchester.
Robert Auiles was in jail for two months for a drug conviction. Now, he has a difficult time finding work.
(6 secs) People usually don't want to hire criminals. It is much harder to find jobs. They have a hard time getting past me being a criminal.
Auiles, and about a hundred other state and federal ex-offenders, attended a job fair in Manchester last week.
In a ballroom that could have held four times as many employers as actually showed up, Aoyles went from table to table to talk to company officials.
Kevin Lavigne is a United States probation officer. He and a few colleagues organized the event.
While he understands employers reluctance to hire people with a criminal record, Lavigne says it would be better for everybody if they could get past that reflexive attitude.
(12 secs) The number one theme in terms of offenders recidivating, is the lack of meaningful employment. An unemployed offender, is three to five times more likely to re-offend while he's unemployed.
To promote this job fair, Lavigne, and other federal probation officers sent out about three hundred and fifty invitations to firms around the region.
Only ten companies showed up, mostly in construction and manufacturing work – two of the most common types of jobs that ex-offenders get.
Russ Collins, a remodeler with Collins Home Innovation Corp in Sandown, says businesses might find it worth their while to look for workers among the ex-offender community.
(18 secs) It's an arena that other people might not be tapping for motivated employees. It both an a way to get an opportunity to hire people who may not have that many options, and hire someone that's motivated who will work hard.
Collins brought along his foreman, who spent time in federal prison for drug charges.
(32 secs) I use him to provide a sanity check on my hiring decisions. He gets a good read on the people. He knows if someone’s slinging it or if someone will really work out or not. He knows to ask questions that I wouldn't think of. He's got insights and skills I don't have because he's been in. I have to make sure my integrity and the reputation of my company won't be adversely impacted by putting this trust into people I employ.
That sort of careful look at an ex-offender is the kind of approach that probation officers wish every employer would copy. They think that if they did, they’d find more good workers.
But judging by the low turnout at this job fair, it seems the hardest part is getting employers to look at all.
For NHPR News, I'm Brian Early.
