Rights of unemployed jobseekers

Actively apply for a full-time job that matches your work ability. You are free to look for jobs or training places that interest you, but please also apply for the jobs offered to you by the employment services experts. The plan that we make for you together contains a job search obligation, which you must comply with. Read more about this later on this page.

 If you are under 25 years of age and do not have a vocational qualification, you must also apply for at least two study places. Read more about unemployment benefit for persons under the age of 25 on the Job Market Finland website.

If your job search is interrupted or discontinued, you will not receive the unemployment benefit.

You can avoid this by attending the services as agreed, at the agreed on time and by respecting the deadlines.  Answer to requests for clarification, calls and messages that you receive from us.  If we need to contact you, we will call or send a message on weekdays between 9 am and 4 pm.

You can make your job search valid again by re-registering as a jobseeker via the E-services.  If you are prevented from registering as a jobseeker online, you must come to our office. If you are unable to come to the office for justified and weighty reasons, you can contact us by phone.

The employment services do not receive change of address information from the Population Information System, so you must provide us with the new address yourself. You can update your contact information in the E-Services. Let us also know if your phone number or email changes.

Notify us without delay if your situation changes. For example, if you start working or studying or become an entrepreneur, please let us know. If job seeking is no longer relevant to you and you do not need the unemployment benefit, please go to the E-Services and end your job search. This way, we will not try to contact you in job seeking matters. If you are unsure how your changed situation will affect your right to the unemployment benefit, you can always contact us.

Please also inform us about the implementation of the steps agreed on in your plan and how you have complied with your job search obligation by the agreed on deadline. Your specialist will give you instructions on how to make the various notifications and what they should include.

You are required to seek and apply for work. The number of jobs you must apply for is, in principle, four, and you are free to choose which jobs you apply for. In exceptional cases, the number of jobs may be lower. You will specify the job search obligation together with your specialist, and it will be recorded in your employment plan. The job search obligation is reviewed or re-specified in connection with updating the employment plan, usually about once every three months.

The employment services can also make job offers to you. A job offer means a proposal for a job that could be suitable for you and that you should apply for. If your job search has lasted more than six months, you must apply for the offered job, unless you have already fulfilled your job search obligation.

You can fulfill your job search obligation in a number of ways, such as:

• applying for a job that lasts at least two weeks by replying to a job advertisement or submitting an open application to the employer.
• applying for a specific job based on a job offer.
• requesting additional hours from your current employer if you are working part-time.
• registering as an applicant in a temporary work agency or applying for a job in a temporary work agency.
• marketing your own expertise, for example, by publishing a job search profile on the Job Market Finland website or another job search site, or by publishing your portfolio online.
• looking for job opportunities you can carry out as an entrepreneur.
• applying for work grants.

Tips and support for job seeking can be found on the Help with job seeking page.

You must report on your job seeking to the employment services so that we can monitor the fulfillment of your job search obligation. The reporting due dates are specified in your employment plan.

The easiest way to report is to use the E-services. If you do not have access to the online service, you can agree on the method of reporting separately with your specialist. You must tell us what kinds of job opportunities you have applied for, how and where.

If you have not fulfilled your job search obligation, you will receive a reminder. Repeated negligence of your job search obligation or other responsibilities affects the payment of your unemployment benefit.

As a jobseeker, it is your responsibility to promote your own employment. For example, if you are selected for a job that you have applied for on your own or you receive a binding job offer, but you refuse it without giving a valid reason, you may be given a 30–45 day waiting period, i.e., an unpaid period during which you will not receive the unemployment benefit.