In many of the world’s most advanced economies, hyper-globalisation and technological shocks such as AI have made many people’s lives seem less secure. But the traditional way of monitoring pay via repeated one-off surveys has limited our understanding of the volatility of earnings, and thus insecurity. This column uses newly available data from Britain’s tax authorities tracing monthly and weekly movement in earnings to reveal that, in the world of work, volatility is the norm. And in Britain