day laborer

an unskilled worker paid by the day.

Origin of day laborer

First recorded in 1540–50

He is at most times a day-laborer, slouchy in his bearing and slovenly in his dress.

Frontier Folk |George Booth
The little cottage which stood in the midst of a wild patch of garden was inhabited by a day-laborer.

The Tragedy of the Chain Pier |Charlotte M. Braeme
Does gold cost the day-laborer as much in California as in New York?

The Principles of Economics |Frank A. Fetter
Large Chinese houses monopolize the trade, and the Chinese artisan and day-laborer have driven out all others.

Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States |Raphael Semmes

Both ambidexter and quadruple-armed is that man, who in a day-laborer's body, possesses a day-laboring soul.

Pierre; or The Ambiguities |Herman Melville