Such a grim picture is portrayed by the World Social Report 2025 as economic instability, conflict, and climate shocks combine is set to erode the global security. Despite people living longer, being better educated and more connected than ever before, the report says that many believe that life today is worse than it was 50 years ago.

The report prepared by the Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) in DESA and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) has pointed out that economic instability is no longer limited to the world’s poorest regions, the report says. Even in high-income countries, rising job uncertainty, gig work and the digital transition are contributing this trend. These jobs may offer flexibility but often come at the cost of security and rights – reducing workers to mere service providers in a commodified labour market.

The insecurities are further compounded by an alarming rise in informal employment. In many low and middle-income countries, jobs with no safety net remains the norm, locking workers into cycles of low pay, instability, and zero benefits. Even those who manage to enter formal employment face significant risks of being pushed back into the informal sector, especially during downturns.

Over one third of the world’s population lives on between $2.15 and $6.85 a day. Over 2.8 billion people are living on less than $6.85 a day – the threshold for extreme poverty. Even a small shock can send people into extreme poverty and any escape from poverty are often temporary. About 65 per cent of the world’s population live in countries where income inequality is growing.

Nearly one in five people are at high risk from climate-related disasters worldwide. One in seven people was exposed to conflict in 2024, with the number of state-based conflicts having doubled since 2010. Both climate shocks and conflicts exacerbate poverty and hinder efforts to alleviate it.

Inequalities remain stubbornly high. Many people struggle to earn adequate incomes in precarious jobs, and insecurity is on the rise. Frustration with the status quo is fuelling distrust and straining the very foundations of global solidarity. The risks of allowing the vicious cycle of economic insecurity, inequality, and declining trust to persist are too high, the report warns.

With a persistently large share of workers in informal employment and an increasing number in precarious jobs, economic instability is widespread. Almost 60 per cent of people worldwide are very worried about losing their job and about not finding a job. Even workers who may have expected to join a secure middle class, based on the path followed by the previous generation, find themselves struggling for economic stability.

Informal employment remains the most prevalent form of labour market participation in low and middle-income countries. Despite early expectations that it would decline and eventually disappear with economic growth and development, the share of informal employment has remained very high.

A large majority of workers remain informally employed for long periods of time – often throughout their lives. While formal wage workers rarely transition to informal jobs, the risk of downward mobility – from formal to informal employment – is significant for workers in formal self-employment, particularly those in low-skilled jobs. There is thus a great social and economic divide between wage workers in formal employment, whose chances of moving to more insecure self-employment or informal employment are low, and the rest of the labour force.

While part-time, temporary and casual work, including in the growing “gig” economy, offer workers significant choice regarding when (and even where) to work, the majority resort to these forms of employment due to the lack of wage jobs under standard contracts.

The growing rift between labour market regulations that were designed for full-time jobs under standard contracts, and ongoing changes in the world of work, is an important driver of insecurity. This rift undermines the relationship between workers, employers and Governments, along with people’s trust in institutions. It is also a root cause of persistently high levels of inequality around the globe.

Public confidence in their governments and institutions are waning fast. About 57 per cent people globally now express low level of confidence in government. Trust levels among the young people born in 21st century are even lower. It raises concerns about the long-term civic disengagement and political instability.

People’s trust in one another is also eroding. Fewer than 30 per cent of people in countries with available data believe that most others can be trusted, which undermines social cohesion and complicating efforts for collective action. The spread of misinformation and disinformation, facilitated by digital technologies, is reinforcing divisions and fuelling distrust.

The report has warned of abuse and misuse of digital platforms and social media to spread deceit and hate speech, and stoke conflicts, adding “Often, users find themselves immersed in virtual and siloed ‘echo chambers’ where they are exposed to news and opinions that align with and may even radicalize their views.”

Therefore, a new policy consensus must begin, the report says, with the recognition that today’s social challenges cannot be addressed in isolation or through piecemeal approaches. The report calls for investing more – and better – in people, focusing on decent work, and progressive taxation on the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

Norms and institutions have little meaning if people do not trust them or abide by the rules that define how we live together. To restore the trust, the report calls for addressing concentrations of power and wealth. Normative and institutional change cannot be engineered from the top down. It is a whole-of-society process and, often, the result of broad coalitions of stakeholders. (IPA Service)