labor-intensive

American

[ley-ber-in-ten-siv] / ˈleɪ bər ɪnˈtɛn sɪv /

adjective

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

labor-intensive Cultural

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.

Etymology

Origin of labor-intensive

First recorded in 1950–55

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.

Final assembly is the more labor-intensive part of Apple’s supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal

Real estate is the latest industry where investors are assessing whether AI will hollow out labor-intensive business models and compress margins at companies that sell expertise at high prices.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lower wage growth eases cost pressures for businesses, which feeds into slower price rises across the economy, particularly in the labor-intensive services sector that dominates the British economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Healthcare jobs can be labor-intensive and less susceptible to automation than other skilled professions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Tarique Rahman, a leading contender for prime minister, said his BNP party plans to offer incentives to grow labor-intensive sectors such as footwear and pharmaceuticals and expand vocational training in trades like plumbing and carpentry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023