skilled labor
Americannoun
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labor that requires special training for its satisfactory performance.
-
the workers employed in such labor.
Etymology
Origin of skilled labor
First recorded in 1770–80
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.
But U.S. submarine production is limited by a brittle supply chain, scarce skilled labor, and other dysfunctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Flush with profits and buoyed by steadily rising sales, businesses have little need to cut jobs, especially when the supply of skilled labor is so low.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
Some tech leaders attribute the drop in industry employment mostly to overhiring following the pandemic, when skilled labor was hard to obtain and retain.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 1, 2026
Massive data-center and chip-factory projects expose severe shortfalls in skilled labor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
I don't know," said Dorothy, very honestly; "skilled labor is the only thing that counts nowadays, and I'm really not fitted for anything.
From The Dorrance Domain by Carolyn Wells
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.
