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What does labor mean?
In everyday and economic use, labor means work or effort that people contribute to producing goods and services. It can include work performed for an employer or through self-employment. The broad idea of labor is not itself a headcount of everyone who works, wants work, or does useful activity.
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Economists commonly discuss labor as an input in production, alongside other resources such as land and capital. Official labor statistics, by contrast, classify people according to whether they are employed, unemployed, or outside the labor force.
What is the labor force?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines the labor force as “the sum of persons in employment plus persons in unemployment.” It describes this as the current supply of labor for producing goods and services through market transactions in exchange for remuneration. See the ILO’s labor force definition.
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This statistical measure does not include everyone who performs useful activity or could potentially work. People who are neither employed nor classified as unemployed are counted as outside the labor force in that framework. The ILO identifies a potential labor force subgroup among people outside it.
Who counts as employed or unemployed?
Employment
Under the ILO framework, employment is work for pay or profit. Classification is based on activity during a short reference period, typically one week or seven days. A person who worked for at least one hour in that period is classified as employed, which takes priority over other activities. The ILO describes this approach in its measurement guidance.
Unemployment
Being without a job is not, by itself, enough to count as unemployed in official statistics. Under the ILO standard, a person must be without work for pay or profit, have actively sought work within the specified period, and be available to start. Job seeking and availability take priority over other situations when applying the classification rules.
Outside the labor force
Someone who is neither employed nor meets the statistical criteria for unemployment is outside the labor force. For example, a person who is not working and has not actively sought work may be in this category, even if they would like a job. This category is distinct from unemployment; the criteria and reference periods determine the classification.
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How the U.S. definition works
For the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines the civilian labor force as people age 16 and older in the civilian noninstitutional population who are classified as employed or unemployed. In practical terms, they are working or actively looking for work. The CPS excludes active-duty Armed Forces members and people living in institutions, among other population exclusions. The BLS explains the scope in its CPS concepts page and defines the term in its glossary.
The CPS has its own employment rules. A person may count as employed if they did paid work, were self-employed, performed qualifying unpaid work in a family enterprise, or were temporarily absent from a job. These are U.S. survey rules, not universal criteria that every country applies identically. The BLS lists them in its CPS definitions.
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Why labor-force definitions differ
Labor-force figures are meaningful only alongside the definition used to produce them. International standards and national surveys can set different population boundaries and operational details. Before comparing figures, check:
- Authority and geography: whether the figure follows an international ILO standard or a national statistical agency’s survey.
- Population covered: the age threshold and exclusions, such as military personnel or people living in institutions.
- Reference period: the week or other period used to classify a person’s activity.
- Employment rules: whether and how the measure treats self-employment, family work, or temporary absence from a job.
- Unemployment rules: requirements for actively seeking work and being available to start, including the treatment of temporary layoffs.
The ILO’s 2013 resolution, adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, refined employment around work for pay or profit, defined unemployment through absence of such work, active job seeking, and availability, and introduced a separate potential-labor-force classification. The ILO summarizes the changes in its measurement guidance. The ILO labor-force page is dated April 14, 2016; consult the relevant statistical agency’s current materials when exact current survey wording matters.
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