How many social workers now? A review of census and other data
Titel:
How many social workers now? A review of census and other data
Auteur:
McCormack, John
Verschenen in:
Australian social work
Paginering:
Jaargang 54 (2001) nr. 3 pagina's 63-72
Jaar:
2001-09-01
Inhoud:
At any point in time, an understanding of how many social workers there are, who employs them, where they are employed, and so on, is of interest to professional bodies, practitioners and student social workers, as well as social work course providers in terns of demand for new graduates. Change in numbers of social workers over time can also be used to interpret political and social changes impacting on the human service industry, as well as professional turnover. Previous labour market analysis research in this journal has documented census counts of social workers up to the 1991 census, and reviewed employment outcomes for different cohorts of graduating BSW students as indicators of social work occupational labour market status. This article updates the previous research with 1996 census data, as well as some more recent ABS 2000 labour Force Survey data. The updated data show an increase in the number of social workers up to year 2000. However, there is both continuity and change in other labour market dimensions of the occupation social work, and, like previous research, the article finds some irregularities between the actual counts. The article argues that the monitoring of counts should be continued, using data sources other than the census, and longitudinal surveys of new graduates would be a useful supplement to enhance our understanding of the change in number of social workers over time.
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