Are you recently graduated and looking for work?

If you graduate from an upper secondary school or an institute of vocational education but have not found a job yet, register as an unemployed jobseeker and apply to Kela for general social security benefit. Getting unemployment benefits is slightly different for upper secondary school graduates and vocational institute graduates.

Remember the following things when you graduate and look for work

1. First, register as an unemployed jobseeker in the Job Market Finland.  Register immediately after graduation. You can only get unemployment benefits if you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker.

2. If you graduate from an institute of vocational education or a higher education institution and do not meet the work requirement, Kela will pay you general social security benefit.
   
   You can apply for general social security benefit starting from the date on which you registered as an unemployed jobseeker. How to apply for general social security benefit.
   
   Your own income and your parents’ income, if you still live with them, will reduce the amount of your labour market subsidy.

3. If you graduate from an upper secondary school and do not meet the work requirement, Kela will pay you general social security benefit.
   
   However, your entitlement to general social security benefit only begins after a qualifying period of 5 months. The qualifying period does not apply to vocational institute graduates.
   
   Only the time when you are registered as a jobseeker counts towards the qualifying period for general social security benefit. Therefore, it is important that you register as a jobseeker immediately after graduating and that you stay registered as a jobseeker the whole time.
   
   However, you should only apply for general social security benefit after the qualifying period of 5 months. How to apply for general social security benefit.
   
   Your own income and your parents’ income, if you still live with them, will reduce the amount of your general social security benefit.
   
   If you have graduated from an upper secondary school, you also have an obligation to seek education.

4. If you have a low income, find out if you could get general housing allowance for your housing costs. Read more about who can get general housing allowance.

5. If you cannot afford your necessary living expenses, you can apply for social assistance. First, apply for other benefits, such as labour market subsidy and general housing allowance. Read more about applying for social assistance.

6. If your unemployment continues, keep your registration as a jobseeker valid according to the instructions of the employment services or your municipality. File an unemployment status report in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) every 4 weeks. Kela pays the general social security benefit on the basis of the report.