labour-intensive

IPA/ˌleɪbər ɪnˈtensɪv/
IPA/ˌleɪbər ɪnˈtensɪv/

labour-intensive — adjective

1. describes a business, process, or kind of work that depends on many workers each

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

describes a business, process, or kind of work that depends on many workers each day instead of mainly on machines or expensive equipment.

Example

The tea farm is still labour-intensive because workers pick every leaf by hand.

labour-intensive because work is done by hand

Adaeze avoided the factory job because the labour-intensive work paid too little.

Common collocations
  • labour-intensive farming
  • labour-intensive industry
  • labour-intensive process
  • labour-intensive production
  • labour-intensive work
Synonyms
  • manual

    broader; focuses on work done by hand, not necessarily on needing many workers

  • staff-heavy

    more informal; emphasizes needing a large number of employees

Antonyms
  • automated

    describes work mostly done by machines or software

  • capital-intensive

    emphasizes large investment in equipment or money rather than human labour

Grammar Patterns

labour-intensive + noun (industry, process, work, farming)

be/remain + labour-intensive

Usage Note

Common in business and economics writing. British spelling uses labour-; American English usually writes labor-intensive.

Common Mistakes

The hotel is labour-intensive because it uses many machines.
The hotel is labour-intensive because many staff are needed for daily service.
The word refers to heavy use of human labour, not heavy use of equipment.

Word family

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • labour-intensive method
  • labour-intensive sector

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

This adjective was formed in modern English by combining labour, meaning human work, with intensive, meaning involving a high degree of something. Together they describe work or production that depends on a large amount of human effort instead of mainly relying on machines or costly equipment.