ˈleɪ.bɚ ˈleɪ.bə ˈleɪ.bɚ ˌprəʊ.lɪˈtɛː.ɹɪ.ət ˌpɹoʊ.ləˈtɛ.ɹi.ət a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field