The role of economic uncertainty as a determinant of childbearing intentions has been explored through a limited set of constructs, failing to recognize the multidimensionality of the concept. This limitation is mirrored in the ambivalence of results reached by different studies. Previous attempts to operationalise economic uncertainty rely on the use of the dichotomy employed/unemployed, ignoring or downplaying that individuals might differ with respect to how they react and take decisions in uncertain economic situations. In this paper we address these oversights by consulting the 2017 Italian Trustlab survey and its built-in module on self-assessed economic uncertainty. We identify four dimensions representing distinct theoretical concepts of perceived economic uncertainty. Multivariate results suggest that these constructs do not affect in the same way fertility intentions. Perceptions of individual and societal economic resilience predict fertility intentions most powerfully, whereas perceptions of employment and financial stability have limited impact. The observed relationship is robust to the inclusion of markers of individual heterogeneity. The effect of economic and employment stability perception is moderated by context variables, such as the prevalence of fixed-term contracts and unemployment rate in Italian provinces. Conversely, the impact of resilience indicators does not depend on external conditions.