Unemployment funds 2018: Earnings-related daily allowance expenditure and number of daily allowance beneficiaries declined significantly

In 2018, unemployment funds’ earnings-related daily allowance expenditure continued to decline. Compared with the previous year, expenditure declined by 18%. A total of EUR 1.9 billion in earnings-related daily allowances was paid.

The number of earnings-related daily allowance beneficiaries fell by 13% and the number of allowance days paid fell by 16%. Job alternation compensation expenditure and the number of people receiving job alternation compensation also continued to decline. Job alternation compensation declined by 55% and the number of people receiving compensation by 34% compared with the previous year.

In 2018, unemployment funds paid commuting and relocation allowances totalling EUR 3 million, i.e. EUR 1 million more than in 2017. The objective of the commuting and relocation allowance is to incentivise unemployed job seekers to accept a job or job-related training also outside their commuting area.

The processing times for earnings-related daily allowance applications remained largely unchanged. The average processing time for all funds in favourable decisions on full earnings-related daily allowance was nine days, i.e. one day less than the previous year.

The data are based on the FIN-FSA’s Finnish-language online publication on unemployment funds – Työttömyyskassat 2018. The structure of the publication has been modified so that the text sections and figures are published as a single PDF file and the tables separately as Excel files. In addition, the FIN-FSA publishes annually criteria for setting the level of unemployment funds’ membership fees as well as data on application volumes, benefit expenditure and processing times on a quarterly basis via its online service.

For further information, please contact:

Dima Matjushin, Information Specialist, tel. +358 9 183 5588.

Appendix

Työttömyyskassat 2018 (in Finnish, PDF file and Excel tables)