How much is the unemployment benefit?

The amount of unemployment benefit depends on the salary of the last twelve months before unemployment. If the unemployed person did not work for at least 150 days (assessment period) in the past year, the so-called assessment period is extended to two years. If there are no 150 days of insurable activities during this period, a fictitious salary is used as the basis for calculation.

Otherwise, the average daily earnings for the previous year are calculated. For this purpose, the total gross amount is divided by the number of days in the assessment period. So if someone has worked the whole of the past year, the sum of his twelve-monthly salaries is divided by 365. This results in the daily assessment fee.

For further calculation, the wage tax, solidarity surcharge and social security contributions are deducted from the daily gross salary on a pro-rata basis. If the unemployed person has at least one child, he or she is entitled to 67% of the calculated amount, otherwise 60%. Multiplying this daily entitlement to ALG I by 30 days results in the monthly unemployment benefit.

Important: One-off payments such as Christmas bonuses, vacation bonuses or bonuses are also included in the calculation.

Tip: Those who only receive a small amount of unemployment benefit may be entitled to additional basic benefits, e. g. unemployment benefit II, which must also be applied for through the Employment Agency.

For more information, please refer to our unemployment benefit II (ALG II) calculator. There you can also calculate your expected entitlement.