Unemployment Insurance in EU->Austria

Unemployment insurance in Austria

Type of scheme

How to join? Compulsory Unemployment Insurance. You will automatically be enrolled in unemployment insurance when you start working in Austria, and the compulsory insurance ends with the end of the employment relationship.

Contribution: Contributions are paid 50% by the employer and 50% by the employee.

Who is covered? All employees (including trainees)

Self-employed who are insured for pensions under the GSVG (Commercial Social Insurance Act) or FSVG (Freelance Self-Employed Social Security Act), have the option to voluntarily pay contributions and thus be covered by the unemployment insurance scheme. Self-employed can choose between three contribution bases.

Benefit amount: Earnings-related. Supplement can be given to low-income groups and families.

Requirements for entitlement

You may claim unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) if you lose your job or become unemployed.

The aim of unemployment benefit is to secure your livelihood while you are looking for work. To be entitled to an unemployment benefit, you must be unemployed, able and willing to work at least 20 hours per week (to accept suitable employment), be at the disposal of the job office and may not have exhausted your entitlement.

Moreover, you must have been in employment subject to compulsory insurance for at least 52 weeks during the last 24 months (accrual period), or 26 weeks within the last 12 months if you are below the age of 25 years.

The accrual periods of 24 or twelve months can be extended under certain circumstances specified by law.

In general, employment subject to unemployment insurance is considered to be any employment as an employee and as a freelancer/independent contractor.

Persons with earnings above the marginal earnings threshold (Geringfügigkeitsgrenze) of EUR 551.10 per month (in 2025) are covered by unemployment insurance.

Marginally employed persons are not subject to compulsory unemployment insurance.
However, from April 1, 2024, employees with multiple marginal employment contracts whose total earnings exceed the marginal employment/earnings threshold will also be compulsorily insured under unemployment insurance. Marginal employment relationships that exist alongside fully insured (regular) employment are also subject to unemployment insurance. To be considered unemployed and to receive unemployment benefits, all employment relationships subject to unemployment insurance contributions must be terminated.

Quarantine in case of self-induced unemployment

If you have resigned from your job without good reason, or if the employment relationship has been terminated due to the employee's own fault, the benefit is suspended for four weeks.

The amount of unemployment benefit

The basic amount of unemployment benefit is 55% of the daily net income and, depending on the amount of the income to be taken into account.

The basis for the calculation is the monthly contribution bases stored by the umbrella organization of social insurance institutions.

The contribution bases of the last twelve months before the application are not used because they are still within the correction period. Certain other periods (such as during illness or unemployment) are also generally not taken into account. However, they are taken into account if there are no other monthly contribution bases before the correction period.

This means that the last 12 monthly contribution bases before the correction period are considered for calculating unemployment benefits.

Example: Application for unemployment benefits on January 17, 2025. The one-year period (correction period) runs from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Therefore, only monthly contribution bases older than 2024 are considered for unemployment benefits. Specifically, the 12 contribution bases from January 2023 to December 2023 (inclusive) are used.

Special payments are taken into account on a flat rate basis by adding one sixth to the current contribution bases.

Maximum monthly earnings for the purpose of calculating the maximum benefit amount are brutto EUR 6,615.00 (2025) which results in a maximum benefit of EUR 77.25 (without possible family supplements) per day.

Supplement:
If the calculated basic amount is lower than the equalisation supplement reference rate ("Ausgleichszulagen-Richtsatz", in 2025 € 1,273.99 per month), then a supplement (Ergänzungsbetrag) is granted. Furthermore, a family supplement (Familienzuschlag) may be added.

Total benefits may not exceed 60 per cent of your daily net income and 80 per cent for benefit recipients with dependants, respectively.

See more about how the unemployment benefit is calculated at AMS.

Tax treatment

Unemployment benefits in Austria is a net benefit, and hence not taxable.

The duration of unemployment benefit

The duration of unemployment benefit depends on the period of insurance and your age. It is paid for at least 20 weeks.

If you are of a certain minimum age and have completed a certain minimum period of insurance, the entitlement period increases to:

• 30 weeks if you have been in employment subject to unemployment insurance for a total of 156 weeks (three years) within the last five years
• 39 weeks if you are over 40 years and have been employed for at least 312 weeks (six years) in the last ten years
• 52 weeks if you are over 50 years and have been employed for at least 468 weeks (nine years) during the last 15 years

This duration can be extended by the period during which you participate in a follow-up training or retraining measure or in a reintegration measure commissioned by the Labour Market Service or by up to four years if you participate in a work foundation (Arbeitsstiftung) (please see "Jargon busters").

If you refuse or obstruct an offer of work or a chance to acquire a vocational training qualification, sanctions will be imposed in the form of your entitlement to unemployment benefit being suspended for at least six weeks. This means that your period of entitlement to unemployment benefit will be reduced.

Insurance periods from other EEA countries

Whenever you have to fulfil certain conditions before being able to claim an Austrian social security benefit, the authorities will also take into account any insurance periods you have completed in other countries. This applies to EU Member States and to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. No insurance period you have completed in Austria will be affected if you work or are insured in one of these countries.
See key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination below or read our article "EU social security coordination".

How to apply for unemployment benefit

When you become unemployed, you have to register with the Labour Market Service and claim unemployment benefit. While you are receiving the benefit, you are required to report to the Labour Market Service at the agreed times to discuss your search for employment with your case officer.

You must also immediately inform the Labour Market Service, without being asked, of any changes in your personal circumstances which may affect your entitlement to a benefit. These include taking up employment or other changes in your income situation.

Unemployment benefit is paid from the date of application, or in case of self-induced unemployment from the 4-week quarantine period has expired.

While you are unemployed, the Labour Market Service pays sickness and pension insurance contributions on your behalf. In addition, you are insured against certain accidents.

If you do not meet the requirements

You may claim unemployment assistance (Notstandshilfe) if you have exhausted your entitlement to unemployment benefit and still are unemployed.
Any other income you may have will be taken into account.

Unemployment assistance amounts to 92% of your most recent unemployment benefit payment. If the unemployment benefit (without family supplements) is below the compensatory supplement reference level for single persons, unemployment allowance amounts to 95% of unemployment benefit.

In case of short-term entitlement to unemployment benefit, there might be a certain reduction after six months. Unemployment assistance is granted for an unlimited period of time, but only for one year at a time.

You must claim unemployment assistance in person from the competent Labour Market Service (AMS). It is recommended that you apply before your entitlement to unemployment benefit expires. If you have an eAMS account, you can also submit your application online.

Jargon busters

• You are willing to work if you are prepared to take up suitable employment.
• Work foundation is a special employment training scheme, organised together with one or more companies concerned, which provides skills training at an early stage of unemployment or in situations where a large group of people are likely to become unemployed because of staff reductions.
• Your eAMS account is your personal access point to the Austrian Labour Market Service (AMS). An eAMS account allows you to access your personal AMS data and to use AMS’s online services.
• Habitual residence - The term ‘habitual residence’ is defined under EU law (please see the EU Regulation on the coordination of social security systems). In practice, it means the place where you have your centre of interests.

Forms you may need to fill in

You can register as unemployed online with the Austrian Labour Market Service (AMS).

A list of harmonised EU forms for the transfer of social security entitlements between the Member States. The form for Austria is available from AMS.

Know your rights

• The things you must do when you find out you will become unemployed
• Information on unemployment benefit
• Information on unemployment assistance
• FAQs on unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance

Look for job in EU with unemployment benefits

Transferring benefits from other EU Member States in the event of unemployment

Whom do you need to contact?

Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy
Section III (Employment Market)

Stubenring 1
1010 Vienna
AUSTRIA
T: +43 1711000
E: service.arbeit@bmaw.gv.at
https://www.bmaw.gv.at

Austrian Labour Market Service
Treustraße 35-43
1200 Vienna
AUSTRIA
T: +43 5 09 04 199
E: ams.oesterreich@ams.at
https://www.ams.at

Offices - Services for jobseekers

Austrian words

Unemployment Insurance = Arbeitslosenversicherung

Unemployment benefit = Arbeitslosengeld

This page was last updated on March 28, 2025.