CAT/OP/POL/CSPRO/1 Prisoners’ programme. Before the launching of the programme, the employment of convicted persons and persons subject to penalties for misdemeanours was 36%, i.e. 24,048 people were employed (as of 31 December 2015). As of the end of 2018, it was 37,078 of convicted persons and persons subject to penalties for misdemeanours, while the rate of employment was above 57%. The average number of convicted persons in employment in 2018 was 36,186 and was higher from the average for 2015 by 11,439 people. Within the group of convicted persons eligible to work, 82.3% of inmates found employment. In the last months of 2018, the rate was almost 85%. Chart 4 Employment rate in 2015–2018 40000 35000 30000 37078 35632 35835 29789 24048 25000 20000 14205 15000 19922 15913 17330 12459 9843 19364 17714 18653 16979 10000 5000 0 12/2015 12/2016 12/2017 06/2018 12/2018 Employment in general Paid employment Unpaid employment 97. This means that as a result of the steps taken, the number of convicted persons in employment was increased by 13,000, while the rate of employment increased by 21 percentage points. The scale of increase and the achieved level of employment is the highest for the last thirty years. 98. The rate of employment in the group of convicted persons described as eligible to work as of 31 December 2018 was 84.78% (as of the end of 2015, this was 58.34%). Table 1 Employment rate in 2012–2018 Total Employment Average monthly employment, paid and unpaid Rate of employment (Rate of employed prisoners to the total number of prisoners) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 /as of 31.12.2018/ 23 630 24 442 25 182 24 762 26 850 34 106 37 078 31% 32% 35% 36% 40% 51% 57% 99. A particularly demanded and achieved result of the ‘Employment for Prisoners’ programme was increasing paid employment opportunities. New jobs enabled referrals to work for much more prisoners with child maintenance liabilities. 24