The Federal Government and most states require all inmates to work if they are physically able, and the corrections systems of both the states and the Federal Government also operate prison industry programs. These industries use workers to produce goods and provide services in a variety of different ways. The principal purpose of these programs is to teach job skills to inmates so that, on their release from prison, they will be more likely to find and hold jobs. Studies consistently show a direct correlation between the ability of inmates to find and hold jobs after they are released and the likelihood that they will not commit future crimes. Of course, there are other significant benefits of prison industries.
Prisoners can earn income to support their families and pay restitution and fines.
Government can raise revenues to defray the costs of incarceration and free up tax dollars for other priorities, such as education. A significant problem facing state and federal corrections programs is the tremendous growth in prison populations over the last decade. By the turn of the century, the Bureau of Prisons' inmate population will have increased by over one hundred thousand inmates in less than twenty years. Yet, on the federal level, only eighteen percent of federal prisoners work in a prison industry. On the state level, only six percent of inmates work in a prison industry.