Unemployment insurance: a benefit period reduced by 25%

The recent so-called “labour market” law opened up the possibility for the government to vary, depending on the economic situation and the situation of the labour market, the conditions required to qualify for unemployment benefit as well as the duration of compensation for jobseekers.

Important: The amount of unemployment benefit cannot be adjusted.

In concrete terms, this system of “countercyclicality” allows the government to tighten the conditions for entitlement and/or shorten the duration of compensation for jobseekers when the period is favourable for employment (i.e., when the unemployment rate is below 9%). The goal? Encourage jobseekers to return to the labour market.

As such, given the current unemployment rate (7.3% in the 3rd quarter of 2022), a recent decree reduces the duration of compensation for jobseekers by 25% for employment contracts ending on or after February 1st, 2023. Knowing that this compensation period can not be less than 6 months.

Please note: The duration of compensation varies for each jobseeker. Before the new rule, the maximum duration was 24 months (30 months for those aged 53 to 54 and 36 months for those aged 55 and over). Reduced by 25%, this maximum duration is now 18 months (23 months for people aged 53 to 54 and 27 months for those aged 55 and over).

In the event of a deterioration in the labour market situation, jobseekers affected by the reduction of their benefit period will be granted an end-of-entitlement supplement cancelling the 25% reduction. This supplement will be granted:
- if the unemployment rate increases by at least 0.8 points over a quarter.
- or if the unemployment rate rises to at least 9%.

Conversely, the end-of-entitlement supplement will cease to apply when, over three consecutive quarters:
- the unemployment rate increases by less than 0.8 percentage points or decreases, and
- the unemployment rate will fall below 9%.