When an individual is unemployable, that person is surplus to the labor needs of society. Unemployability alienates individuals more intensely than simple unemployment. Unemployability soon becomes a class designation. The study analyzes data from the 1980 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey sample, United States census data of unemployment and prison admissions from 1941 to 1978, English and Welsh data on the rate of paupers at large and the number of criminals brought to trial from 1859 to 1910, and Canadian data on unemployment and prison admission from 1941 to 1968. These data support the theory that employment varies inversely with crime. The study observes that while employment is but one of several factors in crime, it is a necessary precondition that affects delinquency, crime, and recidivism. When social policies create economic stress in the general population, there will be a corresponding increase in crime. 41 references.