I would agree with Martín-Baró when he says that one cannot be a psychologist (or do psychology) 'without trying to make a contribution toward changing all those conditions that dehumanizes the majority of the population, alienating their consciousness and blocking the development of their historical identity'. He continues to say that psychology should critically question its activity and its role: 'by whom' is psychology done and 'for what benefit' is it done. Whilst Baró was specifically referring to Latin American psychology, I believe many of his ideas can apply here in different ways.
I believe CBT's effect is to adjust individuals to the way of the world without problem posing their subjective experience vis-a-vis the objective and subjective social conditions, of which one may be unemployment as a political and economic tool or part of this particular socio-economic system which is not natural but designed by man. It is politically important also because it is a cheaper therapy than the alternatives, which raises the question of why this specific cheap therapy is being put in the vanguard of psychological assistance in the US and UK.
In varying degrees depending on the therapist, I think it limits exploration to the individuals problems, not seeing it in the context of varying social wholes (household, local community, nation, world, etc.). It divorces the subjective effect of being unemployed (I am feeling useless) from the objective need (I want to uncover and challenge the myths around unemployment for example, and employment for that matter, and want to be actively engaged in reality, trying to transform the objective situation in, and with, the varying social wholes). It's as if, as long as the person doesn't feel useless, the psychologist's job is done, whereas humans must be way more complex than that: the manifestation of feeling useless resides itself in a whole host of interrelated basic material and psychical needs being unfulfilled. These are probably not the aims of most CBT practitioners, but I believe that CBT has the aforementioned effect.