labor force

[ley-ber fawrs]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of labor force¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

These and other alternative data sources have their drawbacks—they often only cover a small share of the labor force and using them to estimate the state of the broader job market can be tricky.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Last year marks the second in a row where women lost ground to men, losing some income gains they have made after many years of slowly expanding their roles in the labor force.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The new industrialization of Silicon Valley, meanwhile, happened with nonunionized labor forces, whose own factories would close by the end of the 1980s.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But in an economy where women are responsible for half the labor force, and have been for 25 years, the solution isn’t as simple as undoing all of that.

Read more on Salon

Today’s absenteeism could mean labor force problems tomorrow.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• labor pool www.thesaurus.com
• personnel 
• workforce