The subject of the study is various types of informal employment in developing, economically developed countries and in the Russian labor market. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the evolution of traditional forms of informal employment and the emergence of new formats, to identify the challenges and risks associated with them. In the course of the study, general scientific methods, statistical processing of information, and graphic and comparative analysis were used. The information base of the study was statistical data and materials from international organizations (UN, ILO, Eurostat, OECD) and Rosstat. The results of the study show that Russia is at the beginning of the formation of platform employment and freelancing as independent segments of the labor market, and there are significant risks of precarization of these forms of employment. In the context of the evolution of the informal sector and the development of new non-standard and informal types of employment, the author concluded that the key tasks of social policy are the solution of issues of social and pension insurance, as well as the extension of labor and social guarantees to the sphere of non-standard employment. The research results can be used by federal and regional executive authorities in the development and implementation of state policy in the social and labor sphere.