Labour vs. Job — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 9, 2024
Labour refers to the act of working or the workforce itself, emphasizing effort and activity, while a job is a specific position of employment, focusing on a role or task within an organization.
Difference Between Labour and Job
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Labour encompasses the broad concept of work or employment, generally referring to the collective effort and activities of individuals or the workforce. It highlights the physical or mental exertions put into tasks, often considered in economic or social contexts. A job, on the other hand, denotes a specific position of employment within a company or organization, characterized by a defined set of responsibilities, duties, and remuneration.
While labour often implies the broader economic and social roles individuals play within the workforce, jobs are more specific, focusing on the particular roles individuals hold and the tasks they are expected to perform. This distinction underlines the difference between discussing work in general terms (labour) and the specificity of employment positions (jobs).
The concept of labour can also encompass a wider range of activities, not limited to paid employment but including unpaid work and volunteer efforts. Jobs, in contrast, are typically associated with formal employment arrangements, including salary, benefits, and specific working hours.
In discussions about the economy or social policies, labour might refer to the total workforce or specific segments, such as manual or skilled labour. Jobs, however, are often discussed in the context of employment statistics, vacancies, and the job market, reflecting the availability and nature of specific positions within the economy.
Understanding the distinction between labour and jobs is crucial in various contexts, including economic policies, employment laws, and individual career planning. Labour may represent a more abstract concept of work and its role in society, whereas jobs are concrete manifestations of labour in the form of specific roles and tasks individuals undertake.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
The effort by individuals or workforce to perform tasks.
A specific position of employment with defined responsibilities.
Scope
Broad, can be paid or unpaid.
Specific, usually associated with formal employment.
Focus
Effort and activity in work.
Role or task within an organization.
Economic Context
Often discussed in terms of workforce, employment rates.
Discussed in terms of availability, nature of positions.
Social Implication
Can refer to the role of work in society, social classes.
Often focuses on individual employment status, career growth.
Compare with Definitions
Labour
An economic sector or class.
Policies were introduced to protect the rights of labour.
Job
A paid position of regular employment.
She finally found a job that matched her skills.
Labour
The physical or mental effort exerted to do something or produce goods.
The construction project required intense labour for completion.
Job
A specific duty or responsibility.
Part of her job involves answering customer inquiries.
Labour
The workforce as a whole.
The new policy aimed to improve conditions for the nation's labour.
Job
A position within an organization.
The company posted a job opening for a software developer.
Labour
The process of childbirth.
She was in labour for several hours before the baby was born.
Job
A role in which one is employed.
His new job as a teacher was very fulfilling.
Labour
Work, especially hard physical work.
The farmer's daily labour began at dawn.
Job
A task or piece of work, especially one that is paid.
He took on various odd jobs to pay the bills.
Labour
Work, especially physical work
Manual labour
The price of repairs includes labour, parts, and VAT
Job
A job, employment, work or occupation, is a person's role in society. More specifically, a job is an activity, often regular and often performed in exchange for payment ("for a living").
Labour
The Labour Party
The Labour leader
Job
A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or profession
Her job is doing drug research.
Labour
The process of childbirth from the start of uterine contractions to delivery
A woman in labour
Job
A position of employment
How many jobs are open at the factory?.
Labour
A group of moles
A labour of moles toils with the Earth
Job
A task that must be done
Let's finish this job before we start another.
Labour
Work hard; make great effort
They laboured from dawn to dusk
She was patiently labouring over her sketchbooks
Job
A specified duty or responsibility
Your job is to watch the kids while we're away.
Labour
Have difficulty in doing something despite working hard
United laboured against confident opponents
Job
(Informal) A difficult or strenuous task
It's a real job getting people to help out at these events.
Labour
(of a woman in childbirth) be in labour
She laboured very well and comfortably because she was relaxed
Job
A specific piece of work to be done for a set fee
An expensive repair job.
Labour
Variant of labor.
Job
The object to be worked on
Those overgrown shrubs are a big job.
Labour
Effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
Job
Something resulting from or produced by work
I like the job they did on those shrubs.
Labour
That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort.
Job
An operation done to improve one's appearance, or the result of such an operation. Often used in combination
A face job.
Labour
(uncountable) Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
Job
(Computers) A program application that may consist of several steps but is performed as a single logical unit.
Labour
(uncountable) A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
Job
(Informal) A state of affairs
Their marriage was a bad job from the start. It's a good job that we left early to avoid the traffic.
Labour
The act of a mother giving birth.
Job
(Informal) A criminal act, especially a robbery
A bank job.
Labour
The time period during which a mother gives birth.
Job
(Informal) An example of a specified type, especially of something made or constructed. Often used in combination
A new building that is just another glass and steel job.
A cowboy hat that is one of those ten-gallon jobs.
Labour
(nautical) The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.
Job
A jab.
Labour
(historical) A traditional unit of area in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to 177.1 acres or 71.67 ha.
Job
See Table at Bible.
Labour
A group of moles.
Job
To work at odd jobs.
Labour
(intransitive) To toil, to work.
Job
To work by the piece.
Labour
(transitive) To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).
I think we've all got the idea. There's no need to labour the point.
Job
To act as a jobber.
Labour
To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard or wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden.
Job
To purchase (merchandise) from manufacturers and sell it to retailers.
Labour
To suffer the pangs of childbirth.
Job
To arrange for (contracted work) to be done in portions by others; subcontract.
Labour
(nautical) To pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea.
Job
To transact (official business) dishonestly for private profit.
Labour
Same as labor; - British spelling.
Job
To jab or make a jab.
Labour
A social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages;
There is a shortage of skilled labor in this field
Job
A task.
I've got a job for you - could you wash the dishes?
Labour
Concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child;
She was in labor for six hours
Job
An economic role for which a person is paid.
That surgeon has a great job.
He's been out of a job since being made redundant in January.
Labour
A political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and the socialization of key industries
Job
(in noun compounds) Plastic surgery.
He had had a nose job.
Labour
Productive work (especially physical work done for wages);
His labor did not require a great deal of skill
Job
(computing) A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer).
Labour
Work hard;
She was digging away at her math homework
Lexicographers drudge all day long
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Labour
Strive and make an effort to reach a goal;
She tugged for years to make a decent living
We have to push a little to make the deadline!
She is driving away at her doctoral thesis
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Labour
Undergo the efforts of childbirth
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
(colloquial) A thing (often used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall).
Pass me that little job with the screw thread on it.
Job
The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer.
Job
(intransitive) To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire.
Job
(intransitive) To work as a jobber.
Job
To take the loss.
Job
To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in.
Job
To subcontract a project or delivery in small portions to a number of contractors.
We wanted to sell a turnkey plant, but they jobbed out the contract to small firms.
Job
(intransitive) To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To hire or let in periods of service.
To job a carriage
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Job
A piece of chance or occasional work; any definite work undertaken in gross for a fixed price; as, he did the job for a thousand dollars.
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
A situation or opportunity of work; as, he lost his job.
Job
A task, or the execution of a task; as, Michelangelo did a great job on the David statue.
Job
A task or coordinated set of tasks for a multitasking computer, submitted for processing as a single unit, usually for execution in background. See job control language.
Job
The hero of the book of that name in the Old Testament; the prototypical patient man.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To do or cause to be done by separate portions or lots; to sublet (work); as, to job a contract.
Job
To buy and sell, as a broker; to purchase of importers or manufacturers for the purpose of selling to retailers; as, to job goods.
Job
To hire or let by the job or for a period of service; as, to job a carriage.
Job
To do chance work for hire; to work by the piece; to do petty work.
Authors of all work, to job for the season.
Job
To seek private gain under pretense of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
And judges job, and bishops bite the town.
Job
To carry on the business of a jobber in merchandise or stocks.
Job
The principal activity in your life that you do to earn money;
He's not in my line of business
Job
A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee;
Estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars
The job of repairing the engine took several hours
The endless task of classifying the samples
The farmer's morning chores
Job
The performance of a piece of work;
She did an outstanding job as Ophelia
He gave it up as a bad job
Job
The responsibility to do something;
It is their job to print the truth
Job
A workplace; as in the expression
On the job
Job
An object worked on; a result produced by working;
He held the job in his left hand and worked on it with his right
Job
A state of difficulty that needs to be resolved;
She and her husband are having problems
It is always a job to contact him
Urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog
Job
A damaging piece of work;
Dry rot did the job of destroying the barn
The barber did a real job on my hair
Job
A crime (especially a robbery);
The gang pulled off a bank job in St. Louis
Job
A Jewish hero in the Old Testament who maintained his faith in God in spite of afflictions that tested him
Job
Any long-suffering person who withstands affliction without despairing
Job
(computer science) a program application that may consist of several steps but is a single logical unit
Job
A book in the Old Testament containing Job's pleas to God about his afflictions and God's reply
Job
Profit privately from public office and official business
Job
Arranged for contracted work to be done by others
Job
Work occasionally;
As a student I jobbed during the semester breaks
Job
Invest at a risk;
I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating
Common Curiosities
What constitutes a job?
A job is characterized by a formal employment arrangement, including specific duties, salary, and working hours.
How is labour related to the economy?
Labour is a key economic factor, relating to the overall workforce, employment rates, and productivity.
Are all jobs considered labour?
Yes, all jobs fall under the broader category of labour, as they involve exerting effort to perform tasks.
How do social policies affect labour?
Social policies can impact labour by setting employment standards, working conditions, and rights for workers.
Is volunteering considered labour?
Yes, volunteering is considered a form of unpaid labour, contributing effort towards a cause or organization.
What is the difference between labour and a job?
Labour refers to work or the workforce broadly, emphasizing effort, while a job is a specific employment position with defined tasks.
What role does education play in obtaining a job?
Education often determines the type of job one can obtain, influencing career prospects and salary potential.
What is skilled labour?
Skilled labour refers to work that requires specialized skills or training, often associated with higher qualifications.
Can labour be unpaid?
Yes, labour can include unpaid work, such as volunteer efforts, not limited to paid employment.
Can a person have multiple jobs within the same labour sector?
Yes, an individual can hold multiple jobs within the same or different sectors of labour.
How do economic changes impact jobs?
Economic fluctuations can affect job availability, demand for certain roles, and employment rates.
How does technology affect labour?
Technology can transform labour markets, creating new job types and altering how work is performed.
Can a job change over time?
Yes, a job can evolve with changes in responsibilities, technologies, or organizational needs.
What is manual labour?
Manual labour involves physical work, often requiring strength or physical skill rather than desk-based tasks.
What is the gig economy?
The gig economy is characterized by short-term contracts or freelance work, as opposed to permanent jobs, offering flexibility but less security.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
