<p>The paper examines changes in the nature of employment and earnings instability among the self-employed in India using data from two years, 2017-18 and 2022-23. The study period covers the labour market restructuring following the COVID-19 economic shock and the increasing digitalisation. It uses the multinomial probit regression to estimate the determinants of non-standard forms of employment relative to regular wage/salaried workers, and calculates earnings instability among the self-employed in rural and urban areas using the coefficient of variation. The findings reveal that employment precarity is multidimensional, shaped by place of residence, gender, social identity, occupation, and individual characteristics. Gender precarity has intensified in employment, with rising female self-employment concentrated in unpaid family work and marked by higher earnings instability. The higher earnings of the self-employed in urban areas reflect a growing paradox of precarity, characterised by higher earnings instability than in rural areas. The skill-based employment stratification is evident: higher-skilled occupations are concentrated in regular wage/salaried work, middle-level occupations in self-employment, and lower-level occupations in casual labour, indicating structural precarity. The presence of non-standard forms of employment among regular wage/salaried workers indicates that precarious employment is prevalent across the Indian labour market.</p>