Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
wage-earner
noun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Families without wage-earners must seek relief from government social security programs.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As a result it is important to create as many wage-earners and taxpayers as possible.
▪ James mentioned that he had never understood why people went on strike until he became a wage-earner.
▪ The lowest incomes were generally supplemented by charity and in many households women and children were also wage-earners.
▪ To Elfed, Richard was a potential wage-earner, and there he was in school, costing money not earning it.
▪ With current inflation most wage-earners or salaried employees have regular increases in basic remuneration.
Usage examples of "wage-earner".
The consequence is that, while it is permissible to teach birth control to the well-to do, it is criminate to teach it to wage-earners and their wives.
In the Adirondack woods is a wage-earner and lay preacher in the lumber-camps who is of noble character and deeply religious.
As this article was written in 1932, he has not the benefit of knowing that, as we added more wage-earners per family (women entered the work force) and families shrunk (fewer kids), and the means of production become more efficient (better machines) the number of hours each wage-earner must work to support the family has stayed constant.