precarity

[ pri-kair-i-tee ]

noun

1. a state of existence in which material provision and psychological wellness are adversely affected by a lack of regular or secure income:

   The precarity that defines this socially vulnerable demographic cannot be ignored.

Word History and Origins

Origin of precarity¹

First recorded in 1955–60; precar(ious) ( def ) + -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

However, the fact that it was brought up at all highlights the evolving conversation around the precarity of the gig and service economy — and potentially signals a shift to tipping culture in the years to come.

From Salon

There is a growing amount of economic and financial precarity, and previously marginalized groups are no longer confined to the margins of society.

From Salon

I think they hang over students heads the various levels of precarity in the hope that it curbs or stops pro-Palestinian speech.

From Slate

My advice to students going through this is: If you make the choice to protest, don’t think that your precarity is an impediment for standing for justice and for what’s right.

From Slate

That is important because Black and brown working-class people, like Black and brown folks more generally, reject Trumpism even though they too are experiencing economic precarity and downward mobility — if not more than their white peers.

From Salon

More About Precarity

What is precarity?

Precarity is a state of existence in which someone’s mental health or financial security is out of their control because they don’t have a regular income.

A person who cannot find regular work will have a hard time paying their bills. Equally, this could affect their mental health, causing anxiety, worry, anger, and other negative emotions. Someone in this situation is in a precarious, or uncertain, position. They are experiencing precarity.

Precarity can also be used to describe businesses and financial markets. For example, if you want to invest in a public company, but the company’s market is somewhat stagnant, your investment might be described as precarious and the market as filled with precarity.

Example: In my neighborhood, a lot of people experience precarity and are often looking for work.

Where does precarity come from?

The first records of the term precarity come from around the 1950s. It combines the term precarious, meaning “uncertain or insecure,” and the suffix -ity, which form nouns expressing a state or quality. Precarity effectively means “a state of uncertainty.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with precarity? 

• precarious
• precariously
• precariat

What are some words that often get used in discussing precarity?

• demographic
• economics
• income
• population
• quality-of-life
• region
• security
• stability
• uncertainty
• vulnerable
• wellness

How is precarity used in real life?

Precarity is normally used in the specific context of financial instability.

It’s clear that one of the many crises of 2020 is how many people don’t understand colleges, universities, how they work, how they are funded, and how much precarity there is at all levels.

But when schools mass close in 2021/mass fire talented teachers, folks are gon learn.

— Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) March 30, 2020

I think more millennials and particularly women are turning against "hustle culture" and the constant search for traditional career validation – the inevitable result of years of burnout, layoffs and employment precarity

— amil (@amil) November 4, 2019

I’ve never really watched a tiny house show (forgive me @tressiemcphd) but is all of this just an exercise rebranding mobile/trailer homes for middle class respectability? It seems oddly like a cultural reckoning with economic precarity by rebranding it aspirationally.

— @[e-mail] and anildash.com (@anildash) May 29, 2021

 

Try using precarity!

Is precarity used correctly in the following sentence?

“Luis had a hard time finding work because the construction industry is full of precarity.”