Pfeffelbach's inhabitants earned their livelihoods in earlier times mainly at agriculture. There were also the obligatory craftsmen in this comparatively big village. In the 19th century, there were already job opportunities at the stone quarries, especially for farmers’ younger sons. It was in this time that there was quite a strong trend towards emigration, especially to the United States. From the turn of the 20th century onwards, many men from Pfeffelbach worked at the coalmines in the Saarland. These "Saargänger" ("Saar-goers") often ran a small farm for their families’ own needs. According to a civil register from the late 19th century, there were some 200 farmers in the village, and alongside them, various people in the occupations listed below. Most of these traditional occupations are no longer to be found. Even farming has been reduced to an occupation of lesser importance now that vast swathes of farmland are worked by only a few operations. Bit by bit, the village underwent a shift from a farming village to a workers’ village, but even this must be qualified today. Even though a whole series of businesses have located in the village itself, there are villagers in the most varied of occupations, many of whom must commute to jobs elsewhere. From a religious standpoint, most inhabitants belong to the Evangelical faith. While there were 216 people living in the village in 1609 (in neighbouring Ruthweiler 86), the population, which suffered losses in the 17th century's many wars, rose until the early 19th century to almost 500 inhabitants. About the middle of the 19th century, the 1,000 mark was breached, and in 2000, the population peaked at 1,063 inhabitants at a time when population figures were generally seen to be shrinking.