Employment Policy: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Because employment and unemployment are fundamental issues in social welfare, it is useful for social workers to become knowledgeable of various employment policy options and their impacts. To facilitate this process in social work education, this paper presents a conceptual framework which identifies and interrelates a broad range of employment policy options. The framework can be used (1) to clarify types of unemployment, (2) to identify public and private roles in employment policy, (3) to discuss the history and diversity of employment policy options, (4) to identify current policy emphases and new policy proposals, and (5) to describe potential social work roles in employment policy implementation.