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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.
RankCountry% of previous in-work
income received
after 1 year
1 Luxembourg87
2 Belgium78
3 Denmark78
4 Bulgaria*77
5 Portugal75
6 Switzerland72
7 Norway67
8 France66
9 Spain66
10 Netherlands64
11 Sweden64
12 Italy62
13 Iceland61
14 Germany60
15 Finland58
16 Austria51
17 Malta*49
18 Greece47
19 Estonia45
20 Slovenia44
21 New Zealand42
22 Croatia*41
23 Cyprus*38
24 Japan38
25 Romania*38
26 Ireland35
27 Australia32
28 Poland31
29 South Korea23
30 Canada22
31 Israel22
32 Lithuania21
33 Czechia20
34 UK16
35 Latvia14
36 Slovakia10
37 Türkiye10
38 Hungary9
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.
The post Where Unemployment Benefits are the Highest, in OECD Countries appeared first on Visual Capitalist.