In the US, one in four people between the ages of 18 and 50 has at least one tattoo.

With unemployment at nine per cent, for many the desperate search for a job now includes having those tattoos removed.

At a cost of $500 to $1,000 dollars per removal, the process has meant big profits for a number of shops that specialise in the procedure.

Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Washington.