In 2021, only 46 per cent of the possible benefit recipients – that is, the openly unemployed, part-time unemployed or temporary hourly employees – received unemployment benefits. It is often the case that the unemployed do not meet the requirements.
“There are many of those who are unemployed at the Swedish Public Employment Service who cannot receive unemployment benefits, they simply do not meet the conditions and the most common is that you have not worked to a sufficient extent before you became unemployed,” says Alexandra Oljans Ahlin, communicator at Akademikernas a-kassa in a press release.
In order to receive compensation from the unemployment insurance fund, you need to have worked at least 60 hours a month for at least 6 months and be available on the labor market. To receive income-based compensation, you also need to be a member of an unemployment fund.
The compilation also shows that many unemployed people seek financial help from their municipality. Of those who received income support in 2020, unemployment was the reason in half of the cases.