Jobseekers Benefit (JB)

Introduction

Jobseeker’s Benefit is a weekly payment made by the Department of Social Protection to unemployed jobseeker’s who are between 18 and 66 years of age who are part-time or casually employed, short-time workers and seasonal workers, and to those whose employment is based around the school or academic year. This also includes retained fire-fighters who are out of work, meet the general qualification criteria, as outlined below, and have enough PRSI contributions to qualify for this social insurance payment.

Fully Unemployed: If you are fully unemployed (not engaged in any part-time or casual work) you may qualify for the new Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit Payment (JPRB). This payment is based on your PRSI contributions and will be directly linked to your previous earnings.

Shorter Working Week: If you are temporarily placed on a shorter working week, for example your working week has been reduced from a 5 day work pattern to a 3 day work pattern, you can receive support on the Jobseeker’s Benefit scheme for the other 2 days. In order to qualify as Short-Time work, the work must be systematic and must show a clear repetitive pattern of employment and you must work at least 1 day in each week. Please see Short-Term Work for more information.

Payment: You can receive a payment for yourself (main claimant), your spouse / civil partner / co-habitant (Qualified Adult) and any dependant children (Qualified Child) - see Rates of Payment below. Jobseeker's Benefit is not paid for the first 3 days of your claim.

Means Testing: Your payment, as the main claimant, is not means tested and is not affected by any savings, investments or the ownership of property other than your own home you may have.

Spouse or Partners Income: Your spouse’s, civil partner’s or cohabitant's income can affect how much you will recieve in your Jobseeker's Benefit payment for him or her as a qualified adult (QA). Their income from employment or self-employment may affect their portion of your payment. Any other addition income they may have or the value of any property, savings and investments they have may also affect the payment you might receive for them.

Self-Employment: Jobseeker's Benefit for the Self-Employed (JBSE) is a payment for self-employed people between 18 and 66 who cease self-employment and have paid enough PRSI (Pay-Related Social Insurance) contributions. To qualify for JBSE you must be genuinely seeking full-time and employment, and cannot engage in any self employment activity. See Jobseekers Benefit (Self-Employed) for more information.

 

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How to Qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit 

In order to qualify for a Jobseeker's Benefit payment you must satisfy the following conditions:

• Be unemployed - not fully unemployed
• Be under pension age (66)
• Be capable of work
• Be available for full-time work
• Be genuinely seeking work
• Have sustained a substantial loss of employment
• Satisfy the PRSI contribution conditions

It is extremely important that you have your application organised before approaching the Department of Social Protection to make a claim for a Jobseekers payment.

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Rates of Payment

Jobseeker's Benefit weekly rate 2025

Average weekly earnings	Maximum personal rate	Increase for an adult dependant	Increase for a child dependant
Less than €150	€109.50	€104.90	Child aged under 12 €50 (full rate), €25 (half rate)   Child aged 12 and over €62 (full rate), €31 (half rate)
€150 - €219.99	€157.30
€220 - €299.99	€191.10
€300 or more	€244	€162

 

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Duration of Payment

Jobseeker's Benefit is normally paid for a maximum of 9 months. If you have less than 260 PRSI contributions paid since first entering employment Jobseeker's Benefit will only be paid for 6 months instead of the full 9 months. When your JB is exhausted you may apply for the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance payment. Jobseeker's Allowance is a means tested payment, which will take into consideration any savings (over €20,000), investments, property other than your own home and any income from employment or self-employment that either you or your spouse / partner have.

PRSI Contributions

To qualify for JB your PRSI record must include:

At least 104 paid contributions (class A, H or P PRSI) since you first started work, and

• Have 39 paid or credited contributions in the relevant tax year (of which at least 13 must be paid)

or

• Have 26 paid contributions in the relevant tax year and 26 paid contributions in the year immediately preceding it.

If you are unsure about your PRSI record, you can use MyWelfare.ie to request a copy of your PRSI record. You can also contact the PRSI Section at the Department of Social Protection for more information: 01 - 704 3000 or 01 - 679 7777. Please be aware that department officials may not be able to give out certain information about your Social Welfare/PRSI record under Data Protection legislation.

Benefit Year

This is the calendar year in which you are making your claim for Jobseeker's Benefit. It starts on the first Monday in January, and runs from January to December.

Governing Contribution Year

In order to qualify for Jobseeker' Benefit you must have the required number of PRSI contributions in the governing contribution year (GCY) - this is the second-last full tax year before the benefit year.

Benefit Year Governing Contribution Year

Benefit Year	Contribution/Tax Year
1st Monday January 2024	1st January 2022 - 31st December 2022
1st Monday January 2025	1st January 2023 - 31st December 2023
1st Monday January 2026	1st January 2024 - 31st December 2024

 

If your employment in the relevant year was in another EU country or as a volunteer development worker abroad, you will receive the top rate of payment. If you did not earn any money in that year, but were getting credits, you will receive the minimum rate of payment.

Requalifying for Jobseeker's Benefit

If you have used up your entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit, you may requalify for JB by working and paying the appropriate PRSI contributions for at least 13 weeks. (You can start building up these 13 contributions after the 156th day on Jobseeker's Benefit).

Social Insurance and Work in the European Union

Your social insurance record from another EU country may help you qualify for a Jobseeker's Benefit payment in Ireland. However, in order to use your record from abroad you must have paid at least one reckonable (class A, H or P) PRSI contribution in Ireland since your return to Ireland.

Claiming JB in another EU country

You can transfer up to 13 weeks of your JB payment to another EU country provided you are looking for work in that country. You must have been getting JB here for at least 4 weeks before you go. Ask your local Social Welfare Office about transferring JB at least a month before you intend travelling.

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How to Apply for Jobseeker's Benefit

Intreo Service

If you are making a new claim for Jobseeker's Benefit you will be referred to the Intreo service at the Department of Social Protection. The Intreo service will seek to help you with your employment and income support services needs.

Intreo will provide a personal service, based on your individual needs, including: advice on education, training and personal development opportunities; job search assistance; and information on and access to a range of income supports.You will find a list of Intreo Centres here

You can also use the MyWelfare.ie website to apply for and manage your Jobseeker's claim. You will need a verified MyGovID account to apply. If you don't have a verified MyGovID account, you can create one here.

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Return to Work Supports

The Department of Social Protection operate a number of schemes to support Jobseekers to Return to Work, these include:

• JobsPlus
• Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJI)
• Working Family Payment

Self-Employment Options

The Department of Social Protection operate a number of schemes to support Jobseekers in exploring Self-Employment opportunities, these include:

• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
• Short-Term Enterprise Allowance

Education and Training Options

There a number of Education and Training options available to people in reciept of Jobseeker's Benefit payments, these include:

Back to Education Allowance - Second-level option

Back to Education Allowance - Third-level option

Part-time Education Option

Education information here

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Intreo - Employment and Income Supports

Intreo is a service from the Department of Social Protection to help with your employment and income support services needs.

Intreo will provide a personalised service, based on your individual needs including; advice on education, training and personal development opportunities, job search assistance as well as information on and access to a range of income supports , including Jobseeker's Benefit payments

Intreo can provide the following services and supports to Jobseekers

• Employment services and income supports available in one place.
• Expert assistance and advice on employment, training and personal development opportunities.
• A focus on your individual needs to assist you entering the workforce.
• Self-service facilities to provide you with information and guidance on employment and training opportunities.
• Access to information on job vacancies through www.jobsireland.ie
• Information on the full range of income supports provided by the Department of Social Protection, for example, jobseeker’s payments, back to work and back to education payments, one-parent family payments, pensions and others. Also, any queries in relation to your jobseekers or one-parent family payment will continue to be dealt with by the team in your Intreo Centre .

For more information on Intreo visit the Intreo section of Department of Social Protection website.

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Contact Us

Telephone

You can speak, in complete confidence, to an Information Officer in the Information and Advocacy section directly at 01 - 856 0088 , Monday - Thursday 9.30 am to 5.00 pm and Friday 9.30am to 4.00pm.

Online

Use the online Contact Us forms on the INOU website

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