workforce

or work force

[ wurk-fawrs ]

noun

1. the total number of workers in a specific undertaking:

   a holiday for the company's workforce.

2. the total number of people employed or employable:

   a sharp increase in the nation's workforce.

workforce

/ ˈwɜːkˌfɔːs /

noun

1. the total number of workers employed by a company on a specific job, project, etc
2. the total number of people who could be employed

   the country's workforce is growing rapidly

Word History and Origins

Origin of workforce¹

First recorded in 1940–45; work ( def ) + force ( def )

Example Sentences

Having long promised to gut the federal workforce and even eliminate some departments, Trump has foregone many of the norms associated with peacefully taking office.

From Salon

In March 2023 it said 1,300 jobs were to go, a fifth of its workforce, most of them at the Dunton site.

From BBC

The current NHS workforce plan sees PAs and AAs as a crucial part of the staffing mix in the health service.

From BBC

Commerce is smaller than the treasury department, with a workforce of about 50,000 people.

From BBC

A one-time mass deportation would cost taxpayers no less than $315 billion and would devastate the American workforce, it found.

From Salon

Related Words

• labor pool
• personnel