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 unemployment benefits. 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 e-service. 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 and do not meet the work requirement, Kela will pay you labour market subsidy.
   
   You can apply for labour market subsidy starting from the date on which you registered as an unemployed jobseeker. How to apply for labour market subsidy online.
   
   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 labour market subsidy.
   
   However, your entitlement to labour market subsidy 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 labour market subsidy. Therefore, it is important that you register as a jobseeker in the Job Market Finland e-service immediately after graduating and that you stay registered as a jobseeker the whole time.
   
   However, you should only apply for labour market subsidy after the qualifying period of 5 months. How to apply for labour market subsidy online.
   
   Your own income and your parents’ income, if you still live with them, will reduce the amount of your labour market subsidy.
   
   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 additional 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 TE 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 unemployment benefit on the basis of the report.

Also remember that you can combine work and unemployment benefits. In other words, you can receive benefits and a wage or salary at the same time. Listen to the Mimmit sijoittaa podcast episode (in Finnish), which discusses temporary jobs and extra income.