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What is a Labor Pool?

Malcolm Tatum
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Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 28,601
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More commonly known as a labor force, a labor pool is the available group or pool of individuals who are qualified to function in a specific employment situation. This situation may be in the form of a specific position within a company, the workers who are associated with a specific industry, or even the workers who reside in a specific geographical location. While there are exceptions, references to a labor pool or force generally relate only to individuals who are involved in positions of labor, and not individuals who are owners or function in an official management capacity.

There are several characteristics that are common to any type of labor pool. First, those who are considered a part of the pool must be physically and emotionally capable of engaging in some type of labor. This may be unskilled labor, where there is little to no training or special talents required to perform the tasks. A labor pool may also include semi-skilled and skilled labor, which refers to individuals who receive moderate to intense training in order to qualify for employment in certain industries. The key to determining who is part of the labor force is that everyone involved is considered working class, and possesses whatever skills or training is necessary to adequately perform those tasks.

It is not unusual for a business to evaluate the current status of working labor in a given area before opening any facilities in that community. Doing so helps the business to understand how quickly it can secure qualified candidates, offer them employment, and have them adequately trained to operate the new facility. Many companies operate in-house training programs that are constantly training new and existing employees for specific functions. This approach helps to ensure that the business always has a steady flow of qualified laborers to call upon for expansion to existing facilities, or to provide the foundation for the labor force at a new facility.

The demographics associated with labor pools can also often determine if a business wishes to move into a given community. For example, a large discount retailer would probably move quickly to open a new store in a community where most residents are part of the working class, and earn average annual incomes within a certain range. By contrast, a high-end retailer who focuses on the sale of items that are more expensive may consider the same community to be unsuitable for a store location, preferring to open a store in a community where the average income per household is higher.

Depending on the application, the labor pool may include only those who are actively employed, or also include those who are trained and capable of working, but are currently unemployed. Some further refine the pool of labor to include those who are trained, working, or who are actively looking for work, regardless of their level of training. Because of this diversity of thought in regard to who is and is not part of a given labor force, it is often helpful to define what is meant by the term before attempting to evaluate the actual status of any given of workers.

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Malcolm Tatum
By Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing to become a full-time freelance writer. He has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including SmartCapitalMind, and his work has also been featured in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and newspapers. When not writing, Malcolm enjoys collecting vinyl records, following minor league baseball, and cycling.
Discussion Comments
By Vincenzo — On Feb 14, 2015

@Logicfest -- That kind of raises a question. How much is the labor force influenced by the companies that are in town? Your town was a mining town because people were needed to dig out bauxite and process it into aluminum. The aluminum company, then, had a huge impact on the workforce itself both in what kind of workers it attracted and the attitudes workers formed.

By Logicfest — On Feb 13, 2015

One thing intriguing about a labor pool in any given community is how it can define the area. In my part of the world, for example, a huge percentage of the workforce was in the aluminum industry. Mine was a tough minded mining town for years that was also heavily in favor of unions and suspicious of the upper classes.

That outlook colored everything. Awards in injury cases, for example, were among the highest state because of the outlook that suggested that the "little guy" deserves some help when in trouble.

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing...
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