Meaning & use
direct labour
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablebusinessBritish
The work done by employees who are directly involved in making a product, and the cost of that work.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'the' or no article. In US English, the spelling is 'direct labor'.
Patterns
- direct labour costs
- charge direct labour to a job
- direct labour hours
The factory's direct labour costs rose after the minimum wage increased.
Accountants separate direct labour from indirect labour when calculating product costs.
We need to record direct labour hours for each project.
Common combinations
- direct labour cost
- Direct labour cost is a major part of the total production cost.
- direct labour hours
- The budget is based on estimated direct labour hours.
- allocate direct labour
- The company allocates direct labour to each department.
- direct labour rate
- The direct labour rate includes wages and benefits.
Synonyms and how they differ
- direct labor
- American spelling; same meaning.
- touch labor
- A less common term used in some industries for workers who physically handle the product.
Opposites
Word family
- labour noun
- Work, especially physical work; also workers as a group.
- labourer noun
- A person who does physical work.
Commonly confused: direct labour or indirect labour?
direct labour vs indirect labour
'Indirect labour' is work that supports production but is not directly involved in making the product, such as supervision or maintenance.
Practice
In accounting, what does 'direct labour' refer to?
Choose one answer.
'Direct labour' refers to the work of employees directly involved in production. Options A, C, and D refer to other types of costs (materials, indirect labour, and selling expenses).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “direct labour”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.