Requirements for benefits
To receive unemployment benefits, you must be registered at Arbetsförmedlingen, looking for and able to take a job. You must also meet the income condition.
-
Old rules apply if you received a decision before October 1
If you received a decision before October 1, 2025 and still have benefit days left, you will continue to follow the old rules. Read about the old rules.
How to qualify for benefits
To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must
- be at least 20 years old
- be registered with Arbetsförmedlingen
- be actively looking for a job and be able to take one
- meet an income condition during the qualification period.
You meet the income condition if you during the qualification period:
- had a total income of at least SEK 120 000
- earned SEK 11 000 in four separate months.
If your total income is less than SEK 120 000
If your total income is less than SEK 120 000, you may still receive benefits if you meet an alternative rule. To qualify this way, you must have earned at least SEK 11 000 in four consecutive months during the qualification period.
If you receive benefits through the alternative rule, you will receive a standard income of 10,000 kronor, no matter how much you actually have earned. We will use this standard income when we calculate your benefit.
What does … mean?
Qualification period
The qualification period is the time we use to check if you qualify for benefits. It always covers 12 months and starts from the month preceding your application for benefits. The months in the reference period do not have to be consecutive. If you have been sick, on parental leave, or studying full-time, we can sometimes skip those months and extend the period backward until we have 12 usable months.
Which income is included in the income condition?
- The income condition: all income registered with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).
- The total income: In addition to income registered with Skatteverket, certain benefits from Försäkringskassan are also included, such as parental benefit and sickness benefit.
- If you are self-employed: the income you have paid tax on in the previous years.
How much benefit can I receive?
Your benefit depends on your previous income and how long you have been a member of an unemployment fund during the qualification period. You must also have been a member during the months we skip, even if those months are not included in the qualification period.
-
Member for at least 12 months
You can receive 80 percent of your previous income if you have been a member for at least 12 consecutive months during the qualification period.
-
Member for the past 6 months
You can receive 60 percent of your previous income if you meet both of these requirements:
- You have been a member for the past 6 months.
-
You earned SEK 11 000 per month for four months during your membership.
-
Member for less than 6 months or not a member at all
You can receive 50 percent of your previous income if any of the following applies to you:
- You have been a member for less than 6 months.
- You are not a member.
- You do not meet the requirements for 80 or 60 percent, even if you have been a member longer than 6 months.
The cap is SEK 34 000
The highest income we base the calculation on is SEK 34 000. The maximum benefit you can receive is therefore 80 percent of SEK 34 000, which is SEK 27 200 before tax.
If you receive benefit through the alternative rule, you receive a standard income of SEK 10 000 per month, no matter how much you previously earned. We use this standard income when we calculate your benefit.
Your benefit is reduced after 100 benefit days
- After 100 benefit days, your benefit level is reduced by 10 percentage points
- After 200 benefit days, the benefit lever is reduced by another 5 percentage points
How long can I receive benefit?
How long you can receive benefits depends on how many months during the qualification period you earned SEK 11 000.
- 300 benefit days: at least 11 months with SEK 11 000 per month
- 200 benefit days: 8–10 months with SEK 11 000 per month
- 100 benefit days: 4–7 months with SEK 11 000 per month
- 66 benefit days: earned at least SEK 11 000 in four consecutive months.
We can skip months to see if you fulfill the income requirement
When we assess whether you can receive benefit, we can sometimes include income further back than 12 months. This may be the case if you have studied full‑time, received pregnancy benefit, been sick, or been on parental leave.
A month can only be skipped if both of the following conditions are met:
- You earned less than 11,000 kronor during the month.
- More than half of the month consists of time that may be skipped, for example sickness or parental leave.
There are some exceptions
However, there are exceptions where these requirements do not apply. In the following situations, we can skip a month regardless of income or how much of the month can be skipped:
- You completed a full‑time education.
- You had your own business that was closed within 60 months from when it started.
- You had short‑time work.
- You received transition study support part‑time.
In these cases, we skip the months if it is more favorable for you, meaning if it helps you receive a higher benefit per month.
Related topics
-
How do I apply for benefits?
Follow our step-by-step guide on how to apply for unemployment benefits.
-
Become a member
Alfa-kassan is an unemployment insurance fund that welcomes everyone!