Statistically speaking, the employment rate for people who have been formerly incarcerated is about 34.9% after 4 years, which leaves about 2/3 of the population jobless. 

For those who are able to become employed, formerly incarcerated individuals earn about 53% of the average wage of a non-incarcerated individual. The Lifetime earnings loss averages to be about $500,000

The center of the issue is labor market discrimination. When an employer sees a criminal record, they are more inclined to throw out the application. 

If this petition gets enough signatures, businesses will see that this is an issue that people care about, and they might be more willing to hire a formerly incarcerated individual.