The aim of this paper is to show the possibility of social entrepreneurship as a means for employment of persons excluded from the labor market. The right to work is one of the basic human rights, and employment is extremely important for both the individual and the society. Long – term unemployment, which lasts for more than a year, is especially dangerous because it severely affects the capabilities and abilities of persons, and it affects the social exclusion of the individual. One possible answer to the problem of exclusion from the labor market is social entrepreneurship, more specifically work integration social enterprises. The paper presents in general the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, defines it conceptually, and shows the diversity of its occurence with regard to the development of the country. The paper also presents the concepts of social exclusion and long – term unemployment, as well as the possibilities of social entrepreneurship to provide solutions to these problems. Finally, the paper provides a detailed account of work integration social enterprises, their history, integration models they use, target groups they employ, resources they mobilize, types of activities they provide, their sources of income, their effectiveness in integrating people excluded from the labor market and the differences between social enterprises for work integration employing persons with disabilities and those employing other persons excluded from the labor market.