Precariat

The precariat refers to a group or class of people with insecure or precarious paid work with adverse impacts on income, well-being, and identity and causing disaffiliation with society. The size of the precariat and associated income inequality are both connected to power inequalities within societies and questions of how to bring about progressive transformation. Given the widespread attention to Guy Standing’s analyses of the precariat, Standing’s definition of the precariat is presented and contextualized through comparison with three other definitions of the precariat, namely, those of Robert Castel, Mike Savage and group, and Alex Foti, and situated within the literature on precarious labour and precarity. Key debates about Standing’s precariat are highlighted including whether the precariat is a distinct class, a new concept, and applies globally, as well as whether empirical support for the size of the global precariat exists. Changes in the precariat with spread of digital labour platforms are examined. An analysis of how the precariat concept can be extended and enriched by insights from feminist economics is offered. The focus is on the labour insecurity dimensions of the precariat, although social movements and debates about the societal transformation strategies required to address the needs and aspirations of the precariat are recognized as important.