Facts about Social Work and Recruitment

Click here to download a pdf version of the 2009 Social Work Month Toolkit.

• Social workers serve individuals, families and communities.  They are consultants, managers, supervisors and administrators.  They serve at all levels of government.  They are educators.  They are therapists and researchers.  They are elected political leaders and legislators.
• The social work profession has its own body of knowledge, Code of Ethics, practice standards, credentials, and a nationwide system of accredited education programs.
• To be a social worker, you must have a degree in social work from a college or university program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
• The undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW).
• Graduate degrees include the Master of Social Work (MSW) and the Doctorate in Social Work (PhD or DSW).
• As of 2008, the Council on Social Work Education accredited 462 bachelor’s programs and 191 master’s programs.  The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education listed 74 doctoral programs in social work (DSW or PhD) in the United States. 
• According to NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies, social work salaries vary depending upon a number of factors, including geographic location, highest social work degree and gender.
• Median salaries range from a high of $55,129 among those working both full-time and part-time social work jobs to a low of $24,067 among those working only part-time social work jobs.
• The most commonly reported salary category for full-time licensed social workers is $40,000-49,999 with 25 percent of social workers falling into this category.
• Nearly 60 percent of social workers earn between $35,000 and $59,999.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Social workers held about 595,000 jobs in 2006.
• About 5 in 10 social work jobs were in health care and social assistance industries and 3 out of 10 are employed by state and local government agencies.
• Employment by type of social worker in 2006:
• Child, family, and school social workers – 282,000
• Medical and public health social workers – 124,000
• Mental health and substance abuse social workers – 122,000
• Social workers, all other – 66,000
• The need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as any other occupation, especially in gerontology, home healthcare, substance abuse, private social service agencies and school social work.
• Employment of social workers is expected to increase by 22 percent during the 2006-2016 decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.