LABOR-INTENSIVE Definition & Meaning

labor-intensive

[ ley-ber-in-ten-siv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

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

labor-intensive

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.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of labor-intensive¹

First recorded in 1950–55

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Example Sentences

“These are individuals that perform essential, very labor-intensive activities like planting and harvesting,” Ortega told Salon.

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Mechanized production processes now allow for the mass production of products such as foie gras, which historically required labor-intensive methods.

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They also lack scalability and often rely on labor-intensive methods.

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Volunteers for Steel and Tran have mounted labor-intensive campaigns to find those voters and get them to turn in their forms.

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Another Yakima Valley claim to fame is superlative Mexican food, thanks to immigrant families who power the labor-intensive business of fruit picking and packing.

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