labor force
Americannoun
-
(in the United States) the body of people who are at least 16 years old and are either employed or available for employment.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of labor force
First recorded in 1880–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The size of the labor force declined by 720,000 from May to June.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
The unemployment rate's ticking down was mainly due to a sharp drop in the labor force participation rate to its lowest level since March 2021.
From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026
In 2023, California was home to about 2.3 million people without legal status, representing roughly 8% of the state’s labor force, according to the Pew Research Center.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
The jobless rate held steady as more people joined the labor force.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
It was no better than being condemned to the garment-center labor force.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
