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Jobseeker's Benefit and Allowance calculator

2026 and 2027 rates

Jobseeker's Allowance and the full rate of Jobseeker's Benefit are €254 a week in 2026, rising to €264 in January 2027. If you lose your job completely, Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit pays up to €450 a week. Pick a payment and enter your details to estimate your rate.

Rates for
Weekly payment 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How it is worked out

This is an estimate for general information, based on the Department of Social Protection's published rates and means test. Only the Department can decide whether you qualify and how much you get. It is not financial or legal advice. Terms of use.

Illustration for the jobseeker's benefit and allowance calculator

The three jobseeker payments

Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is for people who become fully unemployed and have at least 104 weeks of PRSI paid, with 26 of them in the year before they became unemployed. It is a share of your average gross weekly pay over the 12 months up to 8 weeks before you lost your job.

WeeksShare of payMaximum
1 to 1360%€450
14 to 2655%€375
27 to 3950%€300
Under 260 contributions: 1 to 2650%€300

Jobseeker's Benefit is for part-time, casual and short-time workers. The rate depends on your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year:

Average weekly earnings20262027
€300 or more€254€264*
€220 to €299.99€198.90€206.70*
€150 to €219.99€163.70€170.10*
Under €150€114€118.50*

* The 2027 full rate of €264 is announced. The reduced 2027 rates are our estimates, scaled in line with the full rate.

Jobseeker's Allowance is means tested. The Department works out the maximum for your household (personal rate, plus €168.60 for a qualified adult and €58 or €78 for each child) and takes off your household's weekly means: 60% of pay after €20 a day for up to 3 days, the weekly value of savings, and other income.

Pay-Related Benefit. Average pay of €700 a week and 5 years of PRSI: €420, then €375, then €300 a week for 13 weeks each, €14,235 over 39 weeks.

Jobseeker's Benefit. A part-time worker who earned €250 a week in the relevant year, with a dependent partner and a child under 12, gets €198.90 + €109.20 + €58 = €366.10 for a full week. Working 2 days, they get three fifths: €219.66.

Jobseeker's Allowance. A couple with 2 children under 12 has a maximum of €538.60. The partner earns €300 for 3 days: €300 less €60, times 60%, is €144. Savings of €30,000 add €10. The payment is €538.60 less €154: €384.60 a week.

Not included: self-employment and farm income, the means test for under 25s living with their parents, couples where both claim a payment, penalty rates, and the over 62 and over 65 rules.

Sources

Rates last checked 10 October 2026. Every figure is listed on rates and sources.

Figures marked as announced come from Budget 2027 and are not law until the Finance Act or Social Welfare Act that brings them in is passed.

Questions

How much is Jobseeker's Allowance?
Up to €254 a week in 2026 if you are 25 or over, and €163.70 if you are 18 to 24, unless you have a child or live independently with State housing support. Budget 2027 announced €264 and €173.70 from January 2027. A qualified adult adds €168.60 and each child €58 (under 12) or €78 (12 or over). Your means are taken off.
What is Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit?
Since 31 March 2025, people who become fully unemployed with enough PRSI get a payment linked to their pay: 60% of average weekly earnings (up to €450) for 13 weeks, then 55% (up to €375), then 50% (up to €300). That is 39 weeks with 260 or more paid contributions; otherwise 26 weeks at 50% (up to €300). The minimum is €125 a week, and there are no increases for dependants.
Who still gets Jobseeker's Benefit?
Jobseeker's Benefit is now mainly for part-time, casual, seasonal and short-time workers, education sector workers between terms, and retained firefighters. People who lose their job completely get Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit instead, if they qualify.
How is Jobseeker's Benefit worked out?
By your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year, which is 2 years before the year you claim (2024 for a 2026 claim). The full rate of €254 needs €300 a week or more. Below that it is €198.90, €163.70 or €114. Each day you work takes a fifth off the weekly rate.
How long is Jobseeker's Benefit paid?
234 days (9 months) if you have 260 or more paid PRSI contributions, or 156 days (6 months) if you have fewer. It is paid for 6 days a week, and not for the first 3 days of a new claim.
How does my partner's income affect my payment?
On Jobseeker's Benefit, you get the full increase for a qualified adult if your partner earns €100 a week or less, a reduced increase up to €310, and none above that. Budget 2027 raises the €310 limit to 340 euro from July 2027. On Jobseeker's Allowance, your partner's pay counts in the means test: €20 a day is ignored for up to 3 days, and 60% of the rest counts.
Do savings affect Jobseeker's Allowance?
Yes. The first €20,000 is ignored. The next €10,000 counts as 1 euro a week for each 1,000 euro, the next €10,000 as 2 euro, and anything over €40,000 as 4 euro. So €55,000 in savings counts as 90 euro a week.
Are jobseeker payments taxed?
Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit are taxable, but there is no USC or PRSI on them. Jobseeker's Allowance is not taxable. Short-time workers' Jobseeker's Benefit is not taxed.

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