labor market

American  

noun

1. the available supply of labor considered with reference to the demand for it.

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labor market Cultural  

1. An area of economic exchange in which workers seek jobs and employers seek workers. A “tight” labor market has more jobs than workers. In a “slack” labor market, the reverse is true.

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Etymology

Origin of labor market

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Warsh’s description of the economy as “running close to full employment” implies that labor market slack might not be a reason to embark on further rate cuts, the head of economics said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Until October 2025, the wages paid to H-2A workers were, although low, not so low as to distort the labor market and drag down the wages paid to domestic farmworkers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

But the tech industry’s stability has been waning for the last four years, and significantly trailed the rest of the U.S. labor market.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

The economist offered more proof as to why exposure alone to AI is “a weak predictor of immediate labor market pressure.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Yet wages for people near the bottom of the labor market remain fairly flat, even “stagnant.”

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich