The 'pre-invention' of precarious employment: The changing world of work in context

The term ‘precarious employment’ is widely used to describe irregular and insecurework arrangements that have grown substantially in both rich and poor countriessince the late 1970s. Like the term ‘contingent work’, precarious employment hasbeen adopted and increasingly used by academic researchers and later policymakers since the 1980s. However, the term has deeper historical roots and its recent use can be more accurately seen as a revival as labour markets have taken on some features characteristic of an earlier period. This paper examines use of the term precarious employment in political and public debate in the century or more prior to the 1930s, finding that in key respects this use mirrors contemporary debates. Recognising that precarious employment was a pervasive feature of labour markets in developed countries prior to World War Two has a number of major benefits for contemporary debates. These include a better understanding of the policies that shape the extent of precarious employment. Historical evidence also provides a guide for and reinforcement of a growing body of contemporary research pointing to both the immediate and broader social effects of precarious employment