labor-intensive

[ley-ber-in-ten-siv]

adjective

1. requiring or using a large supply of labor, relative to capital.

labor-intensive

1. A term describing industries that require a great deal of labor relative to capital (compare capital-intensive). Examples of labor-intensive industries are forms of agriculture that cannot make use of machinery and service industries, such as restaurants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of labor-intensive¹

First recorded in 1950–55