I believe that many of us here knows that there are changes on the economic situation and how people deal with it or stand from the difference economic crisis from the past, we are still have a different status in life same as what we experience before, there are poor but they can now still eat the food that they wanted to eat unlike before the food is very hard to find, the people can now go to school easily they can sustain there school tuition or bills etc., so we can say that the situation is not changing they are still poor but they are not the same poor that we can see before, that even the daily needs is very hard to find or buy, so economy is not so hard this time or it is because we are now in a modern world that even people who doesn't have a stable work can have income on thier own way.
Not having a permanent job how can they earn money to meet their living needs and maybe what you mean is because now the government provides assistance to its people, both in terms of health, education and other money so even though they do not have a permanent income people can still eat, provide school for their children or health costs are borne. Now it becomes more complicated because money loses value due to several things and most people are also involved in unproductive debts that affect human life.
There is clearly a significant difference between the economy now and in the past, this is reflected in how a person's ability to run a life. Although people can fulfill some things as you mentioned, but if you look further, the economy now and the past are very different. In the modern world, there are many online jobs that can be done by people as long as they are able to utilize existing technology as a step to make money.