Social protection statistics - unemployment benefits

Data extracted in April 2025.

Planned article update: April 2026.

Highlights

In 2022, expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in the EU was €178 billion, which was equivalent to 1.1% of GDP.

In 2022, expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in the EU was 4.1% of total expenditure on social benefits.

EU expenditure on unemployment-related benefits was 19.9% lower (in constant prices) in 2022 than it had been in 2012, while the total number of unemployed people was 41.7% lower.

Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits, 2022

Social protection benefits are transfers, in cash or in kind, made to relieve households and individuals of the burden of 1 or more social risks or needs. This article presents statistics on social protection benefits intended to address the risks and needs associated with unemployment. It covers not only unemployment benefits paid to unemployed people but also

other cash benefits such as partial unemployment benefits, early retirement benefits for labour market reasons, vocational training allowances and redundancy compensation
benefits in kind such as mobility and resettlement benefits, vocational training, placement services and job search assistance.

Data on unemployment-related benefits are collected annually through the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS).

Unemployment levels move in a cyclical manner, largely related to the general business cycle. However, other factors such as labour market policies and demographic changes may also influence the short and long-term development of unemployment and expenditure on unemployment-related benefits.

Unemployment-related expenditure in 2022

In 2022, expenditure across the EU on unemployment-related benefits was €178 billion, equivalent to 1.1% of GDP. The level of spending varied between EU countries, ranging from 1.8% of GDP in France and 1.7% in Austria and Spain to 0.1% in Romania (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits, 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_func)

Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in the EU amounted to 4.1% of all expenditure on social benefits in 2022, with this share ranging from 6.5% recorded in Spain and also more than 5.0% in France, Austria and Finland down to less than 0.5% in Romania (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits, 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_func)

The proportion of social benefit expenditure allocated to unemployment does not necessarily provide an immediately useful basis for comparison between countries because of differences in the design of social protection systems. Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits is linked not only to the relative generosity of the system in terms of the types of benefits available and the level and duration of benefits provided but also to the way it is targeted and the size of the corresponding target groups.

Bearing in mind that expenditure is, at least in part, related to the number of unemployed people, expenditure per unemployed person (according to the ILO definition ^[1]) may provide a more meaningful cross-country comparison of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits. This comparison can be made in euro (€) terms or in purchasing power standards (PPS); the latter eliminates price level differences between countries (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Average expenditure on unemployment-related benefits, 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_func) and (une_rt_a)

Average expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in 2022 amounted to about 13 300 PPS per unemployed person across the EU but varied considerably among EU countries. The highest expenditure per unemployed person was recorded in Austria (29 200 PPS), while the lowest was recorded in Romania, at just under 800 PPS.

It should be noted that some high ratios may – in part – reflect benefits targeting unemployed people who are not part of the denominator used to measure per person expenditure. For example, this may be because they are non-resident and typically live in neighbouring countries (as is, for example, relatively common in Luxembourg). Another example is people who receive unemployment allowances as a pre-pension but have withdrawn either fully or partially from the labour market (as is, for example, relatively common in Belgium). As such, some care is required when analysing expenditure per unemployed person as the information presented may lack comparability due to differences between subpopulations receiving benefits. Indeed, as mentioned in the introduction, the unemployment function in ESSPROS covers not only unemployment benefits providing income replacement to the unemployed but also a range of other benefits targeted at wider groups, including people that may be employed. An example is partial unemployment benefits, which are paid to employees of enterprises implementing reduced working time or the temporary suspension of work due to economic, climatic or other difficulties; such payments were unusually common in 2020 and to a lesser extent in 2021 due to restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 crisis. The data also cover benefits in kind such as placement services and job search assistance, which are usually made available to anyone seeking work (not just the unemployed), including those who are already employed and/or those who are inactive.

Developments in unemployment-related expenditure

EU expenditure on unemployment-related benefits (in constant price terms) was lower in 2022 than in 2012 (see Figure 4). The developments in this period can be split into 2 parts, namely those between 2012 and 2019 and those between 2020 and 2022.

Focusing on the period from 2012 to 2019, expenditure on unemployment-related benefits fell 16.3% in the EU; the number of unemployed people also fell, down 36.8%. During the same period, expenditure on all social benefits increased (up 12.9%) as did GDP (up 13.3%). The developments for all 4 of these time series were quite regular between 2012 and 2019

apart from an increase in the level of unemployment between 2012 and 2013, the number of unemployed people fell steadily
expenditure on unemployment-related benefits also increased between 2012 and 2013 and then fell steadily, recording a marginal increase in 2019
expenditure on social benefits increased every year between 2012 and 2019
after remaining stable between 2012 and 2013, GDP increased every year between 2013 and 2019.

The patterns observed up to 2019 were interrupted by the COVID-19 crisis in 2020

expenditure on unemployment-related benefits increased by 76.2% in 2020 and then fell by 18.8% in 2021 and 33.1% in 2022. The extraordinary increase in 2020 reflects the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and it is related to restrictions on labour markets and consequently expenditure on unemployment-related benefits
during the same years, the number of unemployed people rose by 4.7% (2020) and then fell by 1.0% (2021) and by 11.2% (2022); these rates of change were considerably smaller than those observed for expenditure on unemployment-related benefits.

Figure 4: Developments for expenditure on social benefits, unemployment-related benefits, GDP and the number of unemployed people, EU, 2012–22
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_func), (nama_10_gdp) and (une_rt_a)

In several EU countries, the number of unemployed people followed a fluctuating development between 2012 and 2022; between these years, the level of unemployment changed greatly, mainly because of the aftermath of crises (the financial and economic crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis) at the beginning of this period, the subsequent recoveries and finally the COVID-19 crisis in the most recent years for which data are available. The overall change for the EU was a decrease of 41.7%. Lower rates were recorded in 2022 than in 2012 in nearly all EU countries. Luxembourg and Sweden were the only exceptions (see Figure 5), with increases of 15.4% and 3.7%, respectively. By contrast, the largest relative decreases in the levels of unemployment between 2012 and 2022 were observed in Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Ireland, Hungary, Portugal and Croatia, all with decreases in excess of 60.0% (there are breaks in series for Bulgaria, Poland, Ireland and Hungary). Note that a fall or rise in the number of unemployed people may reflect changes in the overall size of the of population and/or labour force and this, for example, explains part of the large increase in Luxembourg and the relatively large decreases in some other countries.

A similar analysis for the overall change in constant price expenditure on unemployment-related benefits between 2012 and 2022 indicates that there was an overall decrease in the EU of 19.9%. Between 2012 and 2022, expenditure on unemployment-related benefits decreased in 16 EU countries and increased in the remaining 11 EU countries

the largest increases over this period were recorded in Malta and Lithuania, where expenditure was more than twice as high in 2022 as in 2012 (growth of 167.3% and 147.8%, respectively). Note that these very high growth rates are dominated by the changes between 2019 and 2022
the largest decreases – where such expenditure was lower in 2022 than in 2012 – were observed in Belgium (down 64.4%), Ireland (down 54.8%), while expenditure also more than halved in Portugal and the Netherlands

Figure 5: Overall change in expenditure on unemployment-related benefits and in the number of unemployed people, 2012–22
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_func) and (une_rt_a)

The overall changes between 2012 and 2022 observed for EU countries are often dominated by changes in 2020 and 2022 in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. In more normal times, changes in the total number of unemployed people and in expenditure on unemployment-related benefits may be expected to follow a broadly similar pattern. This is primarily due to the fact that the majority of unemployment-related expenditure relates to benefits that are received by the unemployed. However, there are several reasons why this might not happen

a substantial part of the differing developments after 2019 can be explained by a major change in the composition of unemployment-related expenditure. Between 2019 and 2020, there was a huge increase in the share of expenditure relating to partial unemployment, a benefit usually granted to people who are still employed. In other words, for this type of benefit there is no direct link between developments in the level of expenditure and developments in the number of people who are unemployed
unemployment benefits, which constitute the majority of unemployment-related expenditure, usually become less generous (in terms of amounts paid and/or coverage) as the duration of unemployment extends. In periods of an increasing share of long-term unemployment (such as the aftermath of a prolonged crisis), the proportion of unemployed people who are eligible to receive full benefits declines
redundancy compensation is not strictly linked with unemployment, but if a person does become unemployed as a result of redundancy, they may expect their compensation to be granted before, or soon after, they become unemployed. For this reason, expenditure on redundancy compensation is likely to correlate with increases in the number of unemployed people rather than with the overall number of unemployed people
in the aftermath of a prolonged period of high unemployment (such as after the global financial and economic crisis), government policies may be adapted in order to reduce the level of government spending, impacting on the level and/or coverage of unemployment-related benefits.

Composition of unemployment expenditure in 2022

Distribution by type of benefit

ESSPROS distinguishes 3 main types of social benefits: periodic cash benefits, lump sum cash benefits, benefits in kind. In 2022, 74.9% of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in the EU was disbursed in the form of periodic cash benefits, while 18.0% was disbursed as lump sum cash benefits and the remaining 7.1% as benefits in kind (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by type, 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_fun)

Periodic cash benefits constituted an absolute majority of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in all but 4 of the EU countries in 2022

in Slovakia and Croatia, the share for periodic cash benefits was below 50.0%, but larger than for each of the 2 other types of benefits
in Czechia and Cyprus, expenditure on periodic cash benefits was lower than on lump sum cash benefits.

In Cyprus and Czechia lump sum cash benefits accounted for more than half of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits. In 14 of the other EU countries, these benefits were the 2nd largest component. Lump sum cash benefits accounted for more than two fifths of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in Slovakia (48.5%), Italy (45.5%) and Croatia (41.5%). By contrast, in 5 EU countries lump sum cash benefits accounted for less than 1.0% of the total, among which Denmark, Malta, the Netherlands and Finland where there were no such benefits.

Benefits in kind, which include, for example, vocational training for unemployed people and placement services, accounted for less than 20.0% of the total expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in all but 5 of the EU countries. The exceptions were Estonia (31.4%), Denmark (30.1%), Poland (26.6%), Austria (26.5%) and Sweden (24.6%).

Distribution by detailed benefit type

ESSPROS distinguishes 5 types of periodic unemployment cash benefits

full unemployment benefits
partial unemployment benefits
early retirement benefits for labour market reasons
periodic vocational training allowances
other periodic cash benefits.

Full unemployment benefits were, by far, the most common type of benefit in 2022, accounting for 61.8% of all expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in the EU (see Figure 7). The high contribution of this benefit type explains why periodic cash benefits were the most common form of disbursement.

Figure 7: Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by detailed benefit type, EU, 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_fun)

ESSPROS distinguishes 3 types of unemployment lump sum cash benefits

redundancy compensation
lump sum vocational training allowances
other cash benefits.

Redundancy compensation, which accounted for 14.3% of total expenditure on unemployment-related benefits across the EU in 2022, was the most common type of lump sum cash benefit and the 2nd largest benefit (after full unemployment benefits). Lump sum vocational training allowances represented a very small share in 2022 (about 0.001%), while other lump sum cash benefits had a 3.6% share.

Unemployment benefits in kind can be broken down into 4 detailed benefit types

mobility and resettlement benefits
vocational training in kind benefits
placement services and job search assistance
other benefits in kind.

None of these accounted for a large share of total EU expenditure on unemployment-related benefits in 2022. The largest was recorded for vocational training (2.9%), while each of the remaining benefits in kind accounted for 2.0% or less of unemployment-related benefits.

All but 6 of the EU countries reported that full unemployment benefits were the most common form of disbursement

partial unemployment benefits had the highest share of expenditure in Malta and Romania
periodic vocational training allowances had the highest share of expenditure in Sweden
redundancy compensation (a lump sum benefit) was the most common form of disbursement in Italy and Cyprus
other lump sum benefits (other than redundancy compensation or lump sum vocational training allowances) were the most common form of disbursement in Slovenia.

Developments in the composition of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits

Distribution by type of benefit

When measured in constant price terms (see Figure 8) EU expenditure on unemployment-related benefits was 19.9% lower in 2022 than in 2012. This overall change reflected two periods of development, one steady and one more volatile: a small rise in 2013 and falls most years through to 2019; a sharp increase in 2020 and then falls in 2021 and 2022 bringing the expenditure back to a level similar to that in 2019. These large changes in 2020, 2021 and 2022 mainly reflected changes in periodic cash benefits (see Figure 8). The overall rates of change for expenditure on lump sum cash benefits and benefits in kind in the EU were less affected in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and its related restrictions.

Looking at the earlier part of the time series, expenditure in the EU on lump sum cash benefits and periodic cash benefits followed a generally downward pattern up to 2019. By contrast, expenditure on benefits in kind increased 21.3% overall between 2012 and 2016, before falling back somewhat (down 4.5% overall) by 2019.

Figure 8: Developments for expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by type of disbursement, EU, 2012–22
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_fun)

These changes in the levels of expenditure by type of disbursement have led to a shift in the composition of unemployment-related benefits in the EU between 2012 and 2022. The share of lump sum cash benefits rose during the period under consideration from 17.3% to 18.0% and the share of benefits in kind rose from 4.8% to 7.1% (see Table 1). By contrast, the contribution of periodic cash benefits decreased from 77.9% to 74.9%.

Distribution by detailed benefit type

Table 1 provides an analysis of expenditure levels for 2012 and 2022 for 12 detailed types of unemployment-related benefits within the EU

decreases were observed for the two largest types of benefits, down 21.7% for full unemployment benefits and down 21.3% for redundancy compensation
among other relatively small types of benefits, large decreases were also recorded for other periodic cash benefits (down 66.8%) and early retirement benefit for labour market reasons (down 40.0%)
the largest decrease was recorded for lump sum vocational training allowances, down 97.1%; these represented a tiny share of all unemployment-related benefits both in 2012 and 2022
in real terms, there was a considerable increase in the level of expenditure for mobility and resettlement benefits, which was 74.9% higher in 2022 as it had been in 2012. Expenditure on other benefits in kind also increased strongly, up 60.8%. Both of these types of benefit had accounted for less than 1.0% of unemployment-related benefits in 2012
smaller increases were recorded for expenditure on placement services and job search assistance (up 9.1%), other lump sum cash benefits (up 8.5%) and vocational training benefits in kind (up 4.4%). Each of these had accounted for 1.4% to 2.7% of all unemployment-related benefits in 2012.

It is unsurprising to observe a decline in the level of expenditure for early retirement benefits as EU employment policy has focused on extending working lives and encouraging older workers to remain active in the labour market rather than facilitating their premature withdrawal. Early-retirement benefits are therefore out of line with policy objectives and are generally being used less. Indeed, expenditure on such early-retirement benefits fell in the majority of EU countries where such benefits exist, with notable exceptions in Luxembourg, Poland, Italy, France and Germany where there was growth in current price terms, while in Croatia expenditure on such benefits started only in 2016.

Periodic cash payments for vocational training allowances had also stopped altogether by 2022 in a few EU countries where they had been used in 2012 (Czechia, Slovakia and Finland) and there was a large decrease in such payments in Spain, Ireland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Denmark and Estonia, all down by at least half in constant price terms between 2012 and 2022.

Table 1: Expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by type, EU, 2012 and 2022
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_fun)

Figure 9 provides information on the development (in constant prices terms) for 3 detailed benefit types, the total of all unemployment-related benefits and for the total number of unemployed people. The development of unemployment-related benefits during the period 2012 to 2022 should be considered in light of overall changes to EU labour markets and especially those concerning the level of unemployment, with benefit payments often closely linked to the developments in the number of unemployed people. The early years of the period were influenced by the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis, while the data for the final years, 2020 to 2022, should be considered in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

In the EU, the number of unemployed people rose from 2012 to 2013, after which there was a fall each year to a low in 2019, when it was 36.8% lower than it had been in 2012. The total number of unemployed people increased 4.7% in 2020, dropped slightly in 2021 (down 1.0%) and more strongly in 2022 (down 11.2%).

Figure 9: Developments for expenditure on unemployment-related benefits by detailed benefit type and number of unemployed people, EU, 2012–22
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_fun) and (une_rt_a)

Between 2012 and 2019, expenditure on unemployment-related benefits fell 16.3% in the EU in real terms, considerably less than the 36.8% fall in the number of unemployed people. The fall was smaller for full unemployment benefits (down 13.4%), somewhat greater for expenditure on redundancy compensation (down 20.7%) and notably greater for expenditure on partial unemployment benefits (down 71.0%).

In 2020, expenditure for redundancy payments continued to decline, down a further 2.1% before an increase of 4.8% in 2021 and a further fall of 3.3% in 2022. For expenditure on full and partial unemployment benefits, the downward development reversed dramatically, up 30.6% for full benefits and up 3 600.8% for partial benefits; both fell back strongly in the next two years, down 12.2% in 2021 and 21.2% in 2022 for full benefits and down 39.5% in 2021 and 84.8% in 2022 for partial benefits. As such, expenditure on full benefits was 9.6% lower in 2022 than it had been in 2019, while expenditure on partial benefits remained 240.9% higher in 2022 than it had been in 2019.

For comparison, the developments in the number of unemployed people in the EU was much less dramatic during these years, up 4.7% in 2020 and then down 1.0% and 11.2%, respectively, in 2021 and 2022. Overall, the level of unemployment was 7.9% lower in 2022 than in 2019. It should be noted that partial unemployment benefits are paid to people who are still in employment and therefore not counted in the number of unemployed people.

Source data for tables and graphs

Social protection statistics – unemployment benefits: tables and figures

Data sources

The data related to social protection presented in this article are from the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS), specifically the core system. These data are collected from national statistical offices and/or ministries of social affairs in each country and are generally compiled from administrative sources.

Regulation (EC) No 458/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council provides the legal basis for the data collection and a series of Commission regulations provide further specifications for the implementation of this regulation.

Methodological issues

Some of the principal methodological issues that need to be considered when comparing data on unemployment-related benefits between countries include the following.

Registered unemployment: access to certain types of unemployment-related benefit is often conditional on being registered as unemployed with the public employment services (PES). The comparison of expenditure per unemployed person (as shown in Figure 3) is based on data from the EU’s labour force survey (LFS) ^[2] where the number of unemployed people is shown according to the ILO definition, which refers to people who are without work, currently available for work and actively seeking work. The population of unemployed people measured in this way does not necessarily correspond with the count of people registered as unemployed with the PES and who are therefore potentially eligible for unemployment benefits. Some unemployed people following the ILO definition do not register with the PES, while some of those registered may – depending on the rules in each country – have a part-time job or not be immediately available for work and would therefore not be counted as unemployed according to the ILO definition. The extent to which these 2 concepts overlap depends on national (or regional) regulations establishing the criteria for registering as unemployed. As a result, indicators on expenditure can vary considerably depending on the denominator used.
Structure of unemployment: certain unemployment-related benefits are provided only for a limited duration. For example, the most generous unemployment insurance benefits (in terms of relaxed eligibility criteria and/or levels of income replacement) are usually time limited. After exhausting their entitlement to such benefits, people that remain unemployed are typically transferred to a means-tested unemployment assistance benefit or minimum income allowance, depending on the system in each country. The former would still be recorded in ESSPROS as an unemployment-related benefit but the latter would usually be recorded as expenditure to counter the risk of social exclusion ^[3], creating differences between countries when comparing data by function. Furthermore, the time limit for receipt of unemployment-related benefits varies between countries so the expenditure recorded as being unemployment-related (both in absolute terms and per unemployed person) is impacted not only by the design of the benefits system, but also by the structure of unemployment. Paradoxically, a country with a high number of long-term unemployed people could have relatively low expenditure on unemployment-related benefits, particularly when measured on a per unemployed person basis. This issue highlights the need for better data on the numbers of recipients of unemployment-related benefits.
Family/children supplements: in principle, supplementary unemployment-related benefits that are granted for dependent children should be classified under the family/children function. However, this is often difficult in practice and the value of such supplements may remain as part of the unemployment function. As a result, countries that implement a universally available family allowance and do not use supplements may appear to have a lower level of expenditure on unemployment-related benefits than countries which implement a more restricted family allowance and rely on supplements to top-up the income of families confronted by unemployment.
Impact of the fiscal system: with the exception of payable tax credits, unemployment-related benefits that are provided through the fiscal system are not included in the data presented. For example, tax exemptions, tax credits and higher tax-free allowances provided to unemployed people may reduce taxes paid by recipients but are not included in the expenditure recorded by the ESSPROS core system. Similarly, taxes and social contributions deducted from unemployment-related benefits and recouped by the government are included in benefits. Therefore, the gross expenditure data do not necessarily reflect the contribution of such benefits to the disposable income of beneficiaries.

Context

The organisation and financing of social protection systems is the responsibility of each EU country. Nevertheless, the European Commission provides support to help reach these targets through flagship initiatives such as the European pillar of social rights.

The European pillar of social rights is built upon 20 principles, including

principle 4, which seeks to ensure that long-term unemployed people have the right to an in-depth assessment at the latest after 18 months of unemployment
principle 13, which seeks to ensure that unemployed people have the right to adequate activation support from public employment services to (re)integrate into the labour market and adequate unemployment benefits of reasonable duration.

On 8 November 2019, the Council adopted the Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed, a key initiative part of the roll-out of the European pillar of social rights.

On May 2021, the European Commission adopted The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, which sets out specific initiatives to turn the European Pillar of Social Rights into reality, proposing headline targets for the EU by 2030.

Furthermore, the European Commission provides guidance to EU countries to modernise their welfare systems through the social investment package.

Notes

↑ People who are without work, currently available for work and seeking work; see unemployment.
↑ See http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/overview.
↑ Minimum income allowance is reported in the expenditure on social exclusion in ESSPROS rather than as expenditure on unemployment-related benefits unless specific provisions are made for the unemployed.

Explore further

Database

Social protection (spr), see

Social protection expenditure (spr_exp)

Social protection receipts (spr_rec)

Pensions beneficiaries (spr_pen)

Net social protection benefits (spr_net_ben)

Legislation

Regulation (EC) No 458/2007 of 25 April 2007 on the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS)
- Summaries of EU Legislation: European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS)
Regulation (EC) No 1322/2007 of 12 November 2007 implementing Regulation (EC) No 458/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS) as regards the appropriate formats for transmission, results to be transmitted and criteria for measuring quality for the ESSPROS core system and the module on pension beneficiaries
Regulation (EC) No 10/2008 of 8 January 2008 implementing Regulation (EC) No 458/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS) as regards the definitions, detailed classifications and updating of the rules for dissemination for the ESSPROS core system and the module on pension beneficiaries

[1] People who are without work, currently available for work and seeking work; see unemployment.

[2] See http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/overview.

[3] Minimum income allowance is reported in the expenditure on social exclusion in ESSPROS rather than as expenditure on unemployment-related benefits unless specific provisions are made for the unemployed.

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