What does the term reserve labor force describe?

• A. A Group of Skilled Laborers Assigned to Overtime
• B. A Pool of Unemployed Workers Used by Capitalists
• C. A Government Program for Unemployment Benefits
• D. A Workers' Cooperative

Answer: (B)

It refers to the pool of unemployed workers that capitalists can draw on as needed. In this view, there’s always a surplus of labor willing to work, and employers can call on this reserve to meet demand or to discipline wages. The existence of this reserve gives employers flexibility—hiring when production rises and delaying or reducing hiring when it falls—while helping keep wages down because workers fear being replaced by those in the reserve. It’s not a government benefit program, nor a group of workers specifically assigned to overtime, nor a workers’ cooperative; it’s the unemployed segment that can be mobilized in response to economic conditions.