Next time you think you’ve had a long work week, I invite you to flash back to the 1800s, when the average American worked 12-hour days and 7-day weeks in super-harsh conditions.

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Thanks to the labor movement, Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 and it’s gotten a lot easier since then—so much so that your main problem this Labor Day weekend is how to caption your Instagram posts.

Well that is also now a non-issue because in this post, I have 60 non-cliche, actually creative Labor Day Instagram captions you can celebrate with.

Table of contents

Labor Day Instagram posts

If you’re looking for Labor Day images to use on Instagram, you can save any of the images off of this post. They’re all properly sized for Instagram! Or you can can customize them by accessing them via this Canva link.

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If you’re looking for a boat load of additional ideas, check out these Labor Day social media posts, promotions, and marketing ideas and this list of September marketing ideas.

Creative Instagram captions for Labor Day

Here are some fun Labor Day Instagram caption ideas and examples based on copywriting techniques that can help give you a starting point.

Try repetition

  • Labor Day Weekend. A time for all the RE’s:
    Relax
    Refresh
    Recharge
    Recognize
    Recuperate
    Recover
    Reduce
    Release
    Reflect
  • Happy Labor Day! To those of you who have the day off, be grateful you have a job! To those of you working today, be grateful you have a job! To all the kids out there, be grateful you don’t have a job!

Try cheesy (well, fruity) puns

  • Celebrating the fruits of my labor like…
  • I present to you, the fruits (and nuts) of my labor.
    Picture of fruits and nuts, or a fruity cocktail with a nutty dessert, or a picture of your kids acting nutty.

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Have fun with acronyms

  • LDW:
    Let’s do wings? No, but sounds tasty.
    Loss damage waiver? Nope.
    Lane departure warning. Not even close.
    Last day worked. Getting closer
    Labor day weekend? Bingo!
  • Labor Day Weekend. LDW
    L: Let’s
    D: Ditch
    W: Work

Play around with prepositions

  • Laptop off, music on.
    Phone down, feet up.
    ____ in , ______ out
    (I don’t know, just spitballing here. Or actually use the blanks and have your followers fill them in).

Experiment with alliteration

  • Legit loving this lazy, long Labor Day weekend.
  • Soaking up the last of the summer sun before September reaches full swing.

Rhyming

  • Labor Day is our favorite day.
  • September’s here
    Time to get into gear
    But before we do
    One last hullabaloo
  • Chilling, grilling, and completely unwilling to do any work.

Lyrics

  • LDW summed up in diva lyrics
    “Work, work, work, work, work.” -Rihanna
    “No no no no no.” – Destiny’s Child

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Unique Labor Day Instagram captions

If you’ve caught any of my other Instagram caption ideas posts, you’ve noticed that I’m not into using the cliche list of captions that flood the SERPs. But I am into using them as a base for something more authentic. Check these ones out:

Instead of  “Celebrate work by not doing any.”

  • Celebrate work by working harder.
    (Picture of you hard at work on something fun).
  • Celebrate work by working hard to celebrate.
  • Celebrate the hustle by not moving a muscle.
  • #celebratelaborday with some R&R 😎 Comment below to let us know how you’re enjoying the holiday weekend! We’ll highlight the best responses on our story👀

Instead of “Work hard. Party harder.”

  • Work hard. Party harder. Clean-up hardest.
    (Or “Clean-up easy” if you’re a cleaner.)
  • Work hard. Play harder. Party hardest.
  • Word hard, try hard, fail hard, win hard.

 

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Instead of “Happiness is not having to set your alarm for Monday.”

  • Happiness is gladly setting your alarm every day because you love your job.
  • Happiness is making a living doing what you love.
    Opportunity to thank your customers for making your job great.
  • Happiness is working with a team you look forward to seeing after a long weekend.
  • Happiness is even better when it’s shared, so here’s how we celebrated Labor Day with those closest to us this year❤

Instead of “The only thing better than a long weekend is the short work week that follows it.”

  • The only thing better than a long weekend is the short [ribs/bread/cake] that follows it.
    Let’s pretend you’re a restaurant here and you have a decadent, mouthwatering photo of short ribs/bread/cake. I know, lame, but I’m just trying to get you to think outside the box here.
  • The only thing better than a long weekend is a long island on a long weekend 🍹.
  • The only thing better than a long weekend is _______. Comment and fill in the blank!

Instead of “Never stop chasing summer”

  • Dear summer, have you considered sticking around, you know like, forever?
  • Summer: Take me with you. I travel light I swear.
  • RIP Summer 😭
  • See ya, Summer! Hello, Fall 🍃

 

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Promotional Labor Day Instagram captions

Here are some ideas if you’re looking for a festive way to announce a sale or promote your business.

  • Happy LDW! Not ready for fall yet? Stop in for deals so hot, it’ll still feel like summer.
  • Business name: Where we labor so you don’t have to! Enjoy a restful weekend with us for just [price].
  • End of summer’s a major bummer…until you realize [product] is [sale or promo].
  • Only thing better than an extended weekend is an extended sale!
  • This Labor Day Weekend, let us do the work for you. Enjoy [X, Y and Z] without lifting a finger.

 

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Happy Labor Day Instagram captions

If you’re less willing to go out on a limb (and less willing to risk embarrassing yourself as I have done above), you can stick to these safer and celebrational captions:

  • Happy Labor Day! Thank you to everyone who works hard to make the world tick. And to those who are working even today, an extra thanks to you!
  • Work may be work, but it’s also a daily opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Be grateful for it!
  • Happy Labor Day! To all our workers, thank you! To all our job seekers, stay positive!
  • On this Labor Day, take a minute to appreciate not just the day off, but the fact that you have a job to have a day off from.
  • Happy Labor Day everyone. I’m lucky to have a job I love and a team I love. Thank you [company handle]!
  • Labor Day is a day to celebrate the contributions that America’s workers make to its strength and prosperity. Thank you to all of you!
  • Happy Labor Day! Shoutout to those who work and to those who protect workers’ rights. Thank you!
  • Today we celebrate everyone who works hard, regardless of whether you have a lot to show for it or nothing. We see you. We thank you!
  • Happy LDW! May this weekend be filled with celebration, relaxation, and a shared sense of gratitude for those who hustle hard every day.

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Labor Day quotes for Instagram

When in doubt (or Instagram caption perfection paralysis), you can always go with a quote. In the name of not being cliche, I tried to mix it up a bit.

  • “Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress.” (This is my all-time fave)
  • “A job should not define who or what you are. You should be able to leave today and it not change the overall purpose or direction of your life…Work opportunities can come and go—the direction of your life should remain constant.” — Dan Miller
  • “Money is ultimately never enough compensation for investing one’s time and energy. There must be a sense of purpose, meaning, and accomplishment.” — Dan Miller
  • “Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else’s time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash.” ― Timothy Ferriss

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  • “Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” – Sam Ewing
  • “It’s not the hours you put in your work that counts, it’s the work you put in the hours.”—Sam Ewing
  • “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson
  • “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • “A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them. “– Elbert Hubbard
  • “Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy.” – Ralph Ransom
  • T”he supreme accomplishment is to blur the lines between work and play.” – Arnold J. Toynbee

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Labor Day facts

If you’re looking to educate your audience or spread more awareness, consider using these Labor Day facts and stats in your Instagram captions, thanks to the History Channel:

  • Labor Day began in the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.
  • In the late 1800s, the average American worked 12-hour days and 7-day weeks.
  • On June 28, 1894, Labor Day was signed into law by then-president Grover Cleveland.
  • The two people most associated with founding Labor Day are Peter J McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor and Matthew Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union.

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Hashtags for your Labor Day Instagram captions

As you use the ideas above, be sure to also include some hashtags to help your business attract new Instagram followers. To start, try out these hashtag ideas to go along with your Labor Day Instagram captions:

  • #ldw
  • #happylaborday
  • #workhardplayharder
  • #outofoffice
  • #relaxandrewind
  • #ttylsummer

Want more Instagram captions?

Boy, do I have you covered:

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Meet The Author

Kristen McCormick

Kristen is the Head of Marketing at Hatch, a customer communication platform for service-based businesses. She was previously the Senior Managing Editor at WordStream. Her cat Arnold has double paws on every paw, and she finds life to be exponentially more delightful on a bicycle.

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