A study was performed to determine (1) the characteristics of unassigned recipients in the Work Incentive (WIN) program; (2) what services are currently being offered to this group and what services they need to increase their employment potential; (3) the amount of time they spend in this status and the frequency of their movement in and out of it; and (4) the implications for legislation, WIN resource allocation, program design, and operations. (An unassigned recipient is a client who is neither assigned for training nor employed full time in a subsidized or unsubsidized job.) Based on a sample collected from February through May 1977 of 11,366 client files from sixty-nine sites located in fifteen states, it was found that seventy-one percent of the total WIN population are unassigned recipients, and that within the program they rarely progress to another status. Although seventy-one percent of the unassigned recipients consider themselves job ready, their employability is being impeded by barriers such as age and ethnic origin (males under twenty and Spanish-origin females form the largest number in this category); lack of resources and insufficient job openings at the local WIN sites; lack of supportive services such as child care; and medical problems. Recommendations to aid in the removal of these obstacles are offered. (ELG)