One of the fastest growing workforces in America is found in federal and state prisons. About 1.3 million inmates have jobs, recording $1.7 billion in product sales in 1999. Prison labor is opposed by human rights advocates who claim that it is a form of exploitation and labor officials who claim that it takes jobs away from law-abiding citizens.
See "In U.S., a Boom in Business Behind Bars", Edward Wong, International Herald Tribune, June 6, 2001