make-work

American  

[meyk-wurk] / ˈmeɪkˌwɜrk /

noun

1. work, usually of little importance, created to keep a person from being idle or unemployed.

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make-work Cultural  

1. Publicly provided employment that is designed primarily to relieve unemployment and only incidentally to accomplish important tasks. If private employers are hiring few people because of a business slump, the government can “make work” for people to do.

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Etymology

Origin of make-work

1935–40, noun use of verb phrase make work

Example Sentences

Only this group included his wife, his brother and his personal lawyer, the latter two having been given some kind of make-work jobs at the Pentagon.

From Salon

These are unpaid and powerless groups, often formed to avoid real change by giving make-work to activists and donors.

From Salon

“There’s no Hoover Dam or Lincoln Tunnel on the other side of this nonsense spending. Just Potemkin jobs and a new make-work program when there’s plenty of work to go around,” he said.

From Washington Times

A similar move here and bam – debt would be paid, make-work tolls could be gone, Seattle waterfront saved.

From Seattle Times

“But it’s hard not to conclude that some shuttle missions have felt like make-work projects undertaken more to keep astronauts in orbit rather than because they were essential.”

From Los Angeles Times