When every job application asks whether a person has a criminal record, any prison sentence can feel like a life sentence. For the rest of their lives, men and women who served time for their wrongdoings run into a brick wall if that record is one of the first things a prospective employer learns about them.

North Carolina should consider the economic handicap this puts on individuals, families — the state as a whole — and make it easier for people to get a second chance.

As Amanda Raymond reported in the Post on Sunday, several programs exist to help people coming out of prison find employment. Project Re-Entry conducts 16-week programs to coach inmates on how to land jobs once they are released. The Goodwill Career Connections Center offers help on going through the hiring process.

But time after time, people with criminal records report finding it impossible to get their foot in the door — a problem that affects a large portion of the population. A New York Times/CBS News/Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that men with criminal records account for about 34 percent of all nonworking men ages of 25-54. If that record includes prison time, the odds are stacked against getting a well-paid job. One year after being released, 60 percent of them remain unemployed.

The N.C. Justice Center shares these stats for our state:

• More than 1.6 million people in the state have a criminal record.

• The prison population is about 40,000, and 98 percent of those people will eventually be released.

People who have broken the law cannot expect employers to roll out the red carpet. But a chance to apply for a job and be seen first in terms of their skills and experience  is not too much to ask.

Hundreds of cities and states have adopted “ban the box” or “Fair Chance” laws that make it illegal to ask about criminal records on initial job applications. Charlotte and Durham are among them.

Such a law does not keep an employer from checking an applicant’s criminal record, but it would delay that step until later in the hiring process, when the applicant has been judged on the basis of qualifications first and could then explain any criminal  record. Many employers may be willing to give someone a chance, depending on the crime. A drug infraction, for example, is very different from embezzlement.

Some crimes deserve a life sentence. North Carolina cannot afford, however, for everyone with a criminal record to be barred from fair consideration for a job.