precariat
Economically vulnerable class
The precariat is the class of workers living in economic insecurity—those with unstable employment, few benefits, and little prospect of advancement.
The term blends precarious with proletariat, positioning this group as a new social class shaped by gig work, zero-hour contracts, and eroded labor protections: The gig economy has swelled the ranks of the precariat.
Lowest socioeconomic group
- working poorEmployed but below comfort
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
- disenfranchisedDeprived of voting rights
- dispossessedDeprived of home or land
vulnerable · subaltern · lumpenproletariat · downwardly mobile · indebted · impoverished · low-income · unemployed
Forming a labor collective
- labor rightsEmployees' legal workplace entitlements
- collective bargainingJoint worker-employer talks
- social safety netPublic programs preventing destitution
- benefitsGains or helpful effects
healthcare access · pension · sick leave · job protection · minimum wage · living wage · worker solidarity · activism
Laborers lacking capital ownership
- MarxGerman economic philosopher
- MarxistCommunist theory follower
- sociologyStudy of human communities
- neoliberalismPro-market, anti-regulation ideology
class consciousness · social stratification · political economy · late capitalism · globalization · deindustrialization
Selfish use of others
- wage gapDisparity in earnings
- wealth gapEconomic inequality measure
- socioeconomicRelating to income and status
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
disparity · inequity · classism · discrimination · exclusion · marginalization · deprivation · poverty
Uncertainty about continued employment
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
unpredictability · financial stress · risk · fear · contingency · disposability · expendability · temporariness
Self-employed service provider
- UberApp-summoned car service
- TaskRabbitFreelance errand platform
- UpworkFreelancer hiring website
- FiverrFreelance services marketplace
gig worker · contractor · on-demand · delivery driver · rideshare · temp agency · app-based work · side hustle
Shift to temporary employment
- underemploymentInsufficient use of labor capacity
- temporaryLimited in duration
- part-timeLimited work schedule
- seasonalRecurring at fixed intervals
migrant labor · day labor · outsourcing · subcontracting · workforce · wage theft · service sector · manual labor
underclass
Lowest socioeconomic group
- working poorEmployed but below comfort
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
- disenfranchisedDeprived of voting rights
dispossessed · vulnerable · subaltern · lumpenproletariat · downwardly mobile · indebted · impoverished · low-income · unemployed · underemployed
unionization
Forming a labor collective
- labor rightsEmployees' legal workplace entitlements
- collective bargainingJoint worker-employer talks
- social safety netPublic programs preventing destitution
benefits · healthcare access · pension · sick leave · job protection · minimum wage · living wage · worker solidarity · activism · advocacy
proletariat
Laborers lacking capital ownership
neoliberalism · class consciousness · social stratification · political economy · late capitalism · globalization · deindustrialization
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- wage gapDisparity in earnings
- wealth gapEconomic inequality measure
- socioeconomicRelating to income and status
stratification · disparity · inequity · classism · discrimination · exclusion · marginalization · deprivation · poverty · austerity
job insecurity
Uncertainty about continued employment
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
instability · unpredictability · financial stress · risk · fear · contingency · disposability · expendability · temporariness · transience
freelancer
Self-employed service provider
- UberApp-summoned car service
- TaskRabbitFreelance errand platform
- UpworkFreelancer hiring website
Fiverr · gig worker · contractor · on-demand · delivery driver · rideshare · temp agency · app-based work · side hustle · piecework
casualization
Shift to temporary employment
- underemploymentInsufficient use of labor capacity
- temporaryLimited in duration
- part-timeLimited work schedule
seasonal · migrant labor · day labor · outsourcing · subcontracting · workforce · wage theft · service sector · manual labor · domestic work
- social classupper class, middle class, lower class, working class, social class
- social classesupper class, middle class, lower class, working class, nobles
- underclasspoor, pauper, peasant, homeless, serf
- capitalism critiqueanti-capitalism, wealth inequality, income inequality, wealth gap, income gap
- workersworkers, employee, employees, laborer, laborers
precariattenured
Granted permanent position
civil servants · unionized workforce · unionized workers · staff · lifers
precariatbourgeoisie
Capitalist ownership class
elite · ruling class · upper class · plutocracy · oligarchy