labor force

American  

[ley-ber fawrs] / ˈleɪ bər ˌfɔrs /

noun

1. workforce.

2. (in the United States) the body of people who are at least 16 years old and are either employed or available for employment.

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Etymology

Origin of labor force

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

“Changes in fertility and female and male labor force participation are going to play big roles in the future of child care,” he said.

From Barron's

Typically, the January employment report also includes revisions to population figures in the data that underlies measures of unemployment and other labor force measures.

From The Wall Street Journal

The number of universities in Bangladesh has boomed in recent years, with at least 700,000 graduates entering the labor force annually.

From The Wall Street Journal

And despite the enormous expansion of the U.S. labor force in the past half-century, the number of manufacturing jobs has fallen from a high of 19.4 million in 1979 to just 12.7 million today.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, a pullback in job-market participation and a shrinking labor force meant the unemployment rate retreated to its lowest level in 16 months at 6.5%, data released Friday by the national statistics agency showed.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• labor pool
• personnel
• workforce