Only one-fourth of the world's workers have stable jobs, according to a United Nations report last month. The International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed a worldwide shift from full-time employment toward short-term contracts, irregular hours and unspecified conditions for the majority of the world's workforce. Workers around the world have less stability and less security than ever before.

The ILO's report examines more than 180 countries and covers more than 84 percent of the world's workforce. The study found that most people hold informal jobs or have only temporary or short-term contracts, while others are engaged in unpaid family work, particularly women, who remain lower paid than men. Among the small percentage of workers with a regular salary, only 42 percent have permanent contracts. The concept of lifetime employment has disappeared over the recent years of economic crisis.

The study also shows that many workers continue to work but still find themselves in poverty. Nearly a quarter of the world's workers last year lived with their families on less than $2 (¥250) a day. Ten percent of the global workforce lives on earnings of less than $1.25 per day. These low wages may seem very different from conditions in Japan's economy, but the effects of instability and poverty still affect this nation. Wages in Japan can be driven down by the possibility of exporting jobs by internationalized companies.