Ranked: Unemployment Benefits in OECD Countries
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This graphic ranks OECD countries by their level of unemployment benefits offered. This is measured by the percentage of previous in-work income a person would earn after being unemployed for one year.
Calculations reference a single person without children, whose previous in-work earnings were 67% of the average wage in each country. Data for this graphic and article can be accessed at OECD.org.
OECD Countries by Unemployment Support
Luxembourg tops the rankings of OECD countries by unemployment benefits. Workers in the country can receive 87% of their previous employed income for up to a full year out of work.
| Rank | Country | % of previous in-work income received after 1 year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 87 |
| 2 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 78 |
| 3 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 78 |
| 4 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria* | 77 |
| 5 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 75 |
| 6 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 72 |
| 7 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 67 |
| 8 | 🇫🇷 France | 66 |
| 9 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 66 |
| 10 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 64 |
| 11 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 64 |
| 12 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 62 |
| 13 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 61 |
| 14 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 60 |
| 15 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 58 |
| 16 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 51 |
| 17 | 🇲🇹 Malta* | 49 |
| 18 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 47 |
| 19 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 45 |
| 20 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 44 |
| 21 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 42 |
| 22 | 🇭🇷 Croatia* | 41 |
| 23 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus* | 38 |
| 24 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 38 |
| 25 | 🇷🇴 Romania* | 38 |
| 26 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 35 |
| 27 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 32 |
| 28 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 31 |
| 29 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 23 |
| 30 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 22 |
| 31 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 22 |
| 32 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 21 |
| 33 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 20 |
| 34 | 🇬🇧 UK | 16 |
| 35 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 14 |
| 36 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 10 |
| 37 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 10 |
| 38 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 9 |
| 39 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 9 |
*Not formally in the OECD. Data unavailable for Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Figures current up to 2023.
However, there are stipulations to receiving this money. This includes being fit and willing to work as well as already registered in the National Employment Agency.
After a 10 percentage point gap, Belgium and Denmark all but tie at second place at 78%.
Bulgaria, Portugal, and Switzerland round out the top six, all supporting their unemployed with more than 70% of their previous incomes.
It’s worth pointing out here that five of these top six countries have some of the highest personal income taxes in the world.
On the other end of the rankings, the workers in the U.S. and Hungary only receive 9% of their earlier incomes after a year out of work.
