workfare

[ wuhrk-fair ]

noun

1. a governmental plan under which welfare recipients are required to accept public-service jobs or to participate in job training.

workfare

/ ˈwɜːkˌfɛə /

noun

1. a scheme under which the government of a country requires unemployed people to do community work or undergo job training in return for social-security payments

Word History and Origins

Origin of workfare¹

First recorded in 1965–70; work + (wel)fare

Word History and Origins

Origin of workfare¹

C20: from work + ( wel ) fare

Example Sentences

As an assistant pastor, Mr. Warnock publicly criticized the Giuliani administration’s implementation of a workfare program — which required welfare recipients to work for benefits — and made an impression on a number of elected officials himself, as well as on Mr. Butts.

From New York Times

“They don’t fund landslides or losers,” Mr. Carney said of the group, calling it “a workfare effort, not a welfare group.”

From New York Times

The reactionary version is workfare.

From Los Angeles Times

Workfare came to serve as the main response to job loss.

From The Guardian

The JG should not devolve to either workfare or welfare … Workers can be fired for cause — with grievance procedures established to protect their rights, and with conditions on rehiring into the program.

From Salon