workfare

American  

[wuhrk-fair] / ˈwʌrkˌfɛər /

noun

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

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workfare British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of workfare

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

Example Sentences

Seizing on the 1996 welfare reform act, the Giuliani administration started an ambitious workfare program.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

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 • Jun. 5, 2019

Medical care that comes with workfare covers dentists, but case workers say that Roger needs special authorization because Jesse's problem is so severe.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2016

BJP leaders and strategists with ties to the Modi administration said the government had considered reforms to a $6 billion workfare scheme that guarantees 100 days of employment a year to the rural poor.

From Reuters • Aug. 12, 2014

It would be better to quickly abolish the Tax Void, index subsistence properly, and restore the normal processes of social security and workfare to assist the sub-subsistence group.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas