The total population of working-age people who are willing and able to work, and who hence have “entered” the labor market. The labor force includes individuals who are employed, and those who are “actively” seeking employment.

Longer-term periods of growth or stagnation in the economy, that can last for a decade or more and reflect broader changes in technology, politics, and international relations. For example, most developed capitalist countries experienced a long wave of economic expansion after World War II (the “Golden Age”), followed by a long period of stagnation during the 1980s and 1990s.