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Objective We introduce a novel Finnish register-based measure of precarious employment, examine its background factors, and assess its validity by examining how the measure is associated with outcomes reflecting broader employment instability.Material and Methods We used register data on wage-earners aged 20–64 residing in Finland in 2013 (N = 1 873 210). The precarious employment measure includes items on job discontinuity, agency employment, multijob holding, underemployment, and employment income. Sociodemographic factors and occupation were included as background factors. We examined the associations of the precarious employment measure with subjective (job insecurity with survey information from the same year 2013 linked to the register data at an occupational-group-level) and objective (unemployment over a 5-year follow-up) outcomes of broader employment instability.Results In the total study population, around 5% had precarious employment. It was more common among women, younger age groups, those with foreign background, those with lower education, manual workers, and private sector employees. Large size occupations with large shares of precariously employed individuals included e.g. teachers’ aides, waiters, food service counter attendants, car, taxi and van drivers, security guards, kitchen helpers, and cooks. Precarious employment was not clearly associated with subjective job insecurity. Precarious employment was nevertheless associated with objective occurrence and length of unemployment.Conclusion Precarious employment, as captured by the novel register-based measure, has similar background factors as recognized in the previous literature, and it identifies occupations that can be expected to be characterized by precarious employment. Those who are classified as precariously employed based on objective characteristics of their employment relationship do not necessarily perceive their job as insecure, although they have a clearly increased risk of subsequent unemployment.Funding The study is funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland (364414)