Do employment services need to be neoliberal

There is a divide in the literature on labour market governance between that which sees ‘workfare’ policies as part of a process of neoliberalisation and a more practice-oriented literature that is concerned with the effectiveness and outcomes of ‘active labour market policies’. This chapter engages with these separate but related literatures to make the argument that the trajectory of policy and practice reform in employment services has been inherently neoliberalising over recent decades, and that there is scope to repurpose some of the processes and tools that have been involved in this to more inclusive ends. The chapter proposes that the materialist feminist concept of social reproduction offers one lens through which a more inclusive approach to employment service delivery and management can be viewed. The discussion is tailored to the ways that both national policymakers, local and lower-level implementers and progressive activists may promote a more inclusive form of employment service through their ‘policy work’.

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