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In this working paper, data are presented from a new large national survey that collected extensive information about job characteristics and employment experiences. The paper focuses on a particular feature of these data, a self-reported measure of employment contract status that distinguishes between three types of employment arrangements: fixed-term employment contracts, casual employment and permanent or ongoing employment. These data are used to document differences in the characteristics of workers in each of these three employment categories. How and in what ways the quality of the employment experience varies for workers in the three groups is examined, with particular emphasis paid to variations across employment types in subjective measures of job satisfaction. Analysis of these data suggests that workers do not necessarily perceive non-standard employment as undesirable. Workers on fixed-term contracts are found to be much more satisfied with their jobs than other workers. Lower levels of job satisfaction among casual employees are restricted to those working full time and even then, the size of the effect is only marked among men.