Unemployment Benefits in Austria

Unemployment insurance is part of Austria's compulsory social insurance. Employees pay 2.95% of gross pay, and the employer pays the same. People on low incomes pay less: nothing up to €2,225 a month, 1% up to €2,427 and 2% up to €2,630 (2026). The Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS) pays the benefits and helps you find work. You apply online through eAMS/MeinAMS or at your local AMS office. Benefits are paid at the earliest from the day you register with the AMS.

Unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld)

• Conditions: you are unemployed, able and willing to work, available for at least 20 hours a week (16 hours if you care for a child under 10 and have no childcare), and registered with the AMS.
• Qualifying period (Anwartschaft): generally 52 weeks of insured work in the last 24 months. For a repeat claim, 28 weeks in the last 12 months are enough. People under 25 claiming for the first time need 26 weeks in the last 12 months.
• Amount: the basic amount is 55% of your previous net income, based on your monthly contribution records (gross pay is capped at €6,825 a month for this calculation, 2026). A family supplement of €0.97 a day is added for each dependent child (2026). If the basic amount is below the pension reference rate, the AMS may add a top-up (Ergänzungsbetrag).
• Duration: 20 weeks; 30 weeks after 3 years of insured work; 39 weeks if you are 40 or older with 6 insured years in the last 10; 52 weeks if you are 50 or older with 9 insured years in the last 15.

Emergency assistance (Notstandshilfe)

When your unemployment benefit ends, you can apply for Notstandshilfe within 5 years. It is generally 92% of your basic unemployment benefit, or 95% if that amount was at or below the pension reference rate. Your other income, such as rent or capital income, is taken into account. It has no fixed end date, but you must apply again every 52 weeks.

Social assistance (Sozialhilfe / Mindestsicherung)

If you have no other means, the Länder pay means-tested social assistance. You must first use your own savings above a protected amount of €7,379 per person (2026), and you must be willing to work. Third-country nationals generally qualify only after more than 5 years of lawful residence. EU/EEA citizens qualify fully as workers or after 5 years. Vienna (2026) pays up to €1,229.89 a month for a single adult aged 25 or over, €860.92 per adult in a couple, and €332.07 per minor child.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Register with the AMS on your first day without work. Since 1 July 2025 you must also re-register immediately after any break (for example a trip abroad or sick leave), or the payments stop until you do.
• Since 1 January 2026 you may keep a marginal job alongside AMS benefits only in five exceptional cases.
• Report any change in your income or circumstances to the AMS at once, or it can reclaim payments.
• Insurance periods from other EU/EEA countries or Switzerland can count towards the qualifying period. Ask the AMS which proof you need.

Official guidance: AMS: unemployment benefit, AMS: emergency assistance, AMS: key values 2026, Social Ministry: social assistance, Vienna: minimum income