Why and how to register as unemployed?
If you have become unemployed and are looking for a job, register as unemployed with the Unemployment Insurance Fund. As a registered unemployed person, you can apply for benefits and allowances and get help in finding a new job.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund offers a number of services to support job-seekers, including job mediation, career counselling, and labour market training.
Your health insurance will be valid throughout the period of unemployment.
To register as unemployed, submit an application via the e-unemployment insurance fund (e-töötukassa) fund or go to a suitable office of the Unemployment Insurance Fund to see a consultant. Bring a valid identity document.
You can find information on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund about who cannot register as unemployed.
You can find additional information in the subtopic ‘Unemployment or Seeking Employment’ of the state portal.
Do people who are registered as unemployed have health insurance?
People registered as unemployed with the Unemployment Insurance Fund have health insurance. The data on health insurance is submitted to the Health Insurance Fund by the Unemployment Insurance Fund, you do not have to do it yourself.
Health insurance starts within 31 days after registration as unemployed and is valid for the entire period of registration as unemployed.
Health insurance ends one month after the end of registration as unemployed. If the registration as unemployed is terminated together with the termination of the unemployment insurance benefit, the health insurance is valid for another two months after the end of the benefit period.
You can check the validity of health insurance in the state portal: "My personal data in the Health Insurance Fund".
Read more about unemployment health insurance on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
When am I entitled to unemployment insurance benefit?
As of 1 January 2026, the Unemployment Insurance Fund is granting unemployed people either the income-based unemployment insurance benefit or the basic unemployment insurance benefit.
You are entitled to the income-based unemployment benefit if you worked for at least 12 months in the three years prior to registering as unemployed. This benefit is not granted if you yourself ended your last employment relationship, it ended by agreement between the parties or it was terminated due to misconduct on your part.
You are entitled to the basic unemployment insurance benefit if you worked for at least eight months in the three years prior to registering as unemployed. The legal basis for the ending or termination of your last employment relationship has no bearing on your right to obtain the basic unemployment insurance benefit.
If you wish to apply for an unemployment insurance benefit, you can submit an application via the e-töötukassa or at your local unemployment insurance office.
For more information on unemployment insurance benefits, read the article ‘Unemployment insurance and benefits’ on the state portal or browse the Unemployment Insurance Fund website.
Unemployment insurance benefit amounts and how they are calculated?
The amount of the income-based unemployment benefit depends on your previous earnings. You will receive 60% of your average earnings per calendar day for the first 100 calendar days of the unemployment benefit period, and 40% thereafter.
The basic unemployment insurance benefit is 50% of the minimum wage per calendar day in Estonia in the previous calendar year.
More information on the amounts of unemployment insurance benefits can be found on the Unemployment Insurance Fund website.
The income-based unemployment benefit is paid for 180, 210 or 300 days, depending on how long you have been insured.
If the situation on the labour market is very good, the base period remains in force and the benefit period is not extended.
If the situation is normal (i.e. the number of registered unemployed is at least 80% of the average of the last 10 years or higher than the average of the last three years), the 210- and 300-day benefit periods are extended by 60 days.
If the situation is poor (i.e. there are at least 20% more registered unemployed people than the average of the last three years), the 180-day benefit period is extended by 60 days and the 210- and 300-day benefit periods by 120 days.
The basic unemployment insurance benefit is paid for 180 days.
If the situation on the labour market is poor (i.e. there are at least 20% more registered unemployed people than the average of the last three years), the basic benefit period is extended by 60 days.
You don't need to re-apply or confirm anything in order to extend your benefit period.
For more information on the duration of the benefit, see the Unemployment Insurance Fund website.
To apply for an unemployment insurance benefit, submit an application via the e-töötukassa or at an Unemployment Insurance Fund office.
Who is the unemployment benefit paid out to, in what amount and for how long?
The deadline for applications for the unemployment benefit was 31 December 2025. Since 1 January 2026, the unemployment benefit has been replaced with a new type of benefit: the basic unemployment insurance benefit. Unemployment benefits awarded in 2025 will continue to be paid in 2026, but no new unemployment benefits will be granted.
To qualify for the unemployment benefit, you must have either worked or been engaged in an activity classed as work (studying, self-employment, military service, etc.) for at least 180 days in the 12 months prior to registering as unemployed. The unemployment benefit was also paid if you left your job of your own free will, by agreement between the parties or because of misconduct on your part.
The daily rate of the unemployment benefit in 2026 is €14.30, with 31 times the daily rate being €443.30. The benefit is paid for up to 270 days.
Redundancy benefit
If you have been made redundant, your employer must pay you a redundancy benefit equal to your average monthly wage. In addition, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will pay you an additional redundancy benefit if your employment with this employer has lasted for at least five years.
The amount of benefit paid by the Unemployment Insurance Fund depends on the duration of the employment relationship. Employees with five to ten years of employment history are entitled to a benefit equal to one month’s average wage and employees with more than ten years’ employment history to two months’ average wage.
In order to apply for redundancy benefit, the employer has to submit an application to the Unemployment Insurance Fund within five calendar days as of the termination of the employment relationship. If the employer has not submitted an application for the benefit in the event of redundancy by the term, the employee also has the right to submit an application to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
You can read more about the redundancy benefit on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Insolvency benefit
In the event of the insolvency of the employer, the employee will be compensated for the wage and holiday pay lost before the employer is declared insolvent and for the benefits not received upon termination of the employment contract before or after the employer is declared insolvent.
The amount of the insolvency benefit is calculated by the type of unpaid fees and the amounts of the benefit are capped.
A trustee in bankruptcy or a temporary trustee in bankruptcy submits an application to the Unemployment Insurance Fund to apply for the benefit.
You can read more about applying for the insolvency benefit, its size, etc. on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Where can I contest the termination of my employment contract?
You can contest the termination of your employment contract in a labour dispute committee or in court. To contest the termination of your employment contract, you must apply to the labour dispute resolution body within 30 days of receiving the notice of termination. Terminations cannot be contested later.
You can read more about contesting the termination of an employment contract on the Tööelu portal.
Where can I find job offers?
The largest job offer mediators in Estonia are the Unemployment Insurance Fund, employment mediation portals, and recruitment companies.
You can search for job offers without logging in via the e-unemployment insurance fund. There, it is possible to compile a CV and apply for job offers.
You can find the addresses of the most common job offer portals on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
I am looking for a job outside Estonia
You can find information on job vacancies in Europe through the EURES employment mediation network. In Estonia, the activities of EURES are coordinated by the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Advisers at EURES provide free information on job vacancies in Europe and abroad, as well as on employment conditions and social guarantees. Individual or group counselling is also offered.
More information and contacts of EURES advisers can be found on the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s website and on the EURES website.
How to write a curriculum vitae (CV)
When applying for a vacancy, you must generally submit your CV to the employer. Sometimes, the employer also wants to be sent a cover letter. You will definitely benefit from a letter of recommendation from your previous employers.
Advice on preparing a CV and other documents necessary for applying for a job (cover letter, motivation letter, letter of recommendation) can be found on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Can I work temporarily while registered as unemployed?
From 1 September 2020, a person registered as unemployed can do temporary work in addition to looking for a main job without ending their registration as unemployed.
Before accepting temporary work, make sure that it is possible to continue to be registered as unemployed while working. The conditions of temporary employment are specified in the Labour Market Measures Act § 11 (3).
As soon as the opportunity arises to get a temporary job, notify the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Unemployment Insurance Fund must be notified of the expected duration of the temporary employment and the remuneration.
During the period of registration as unemployed, you may work temporarily for up to eight days in a calendar month, and the remuneration paid for each one-time employment may not exceed 40 per cent of the minimum wage for the month of the current calendar year.
If you have exceeded the number of days of temporary employment per month allowed during your registration as unemployed, or if the remuneration for temporary employment is more than 328 euros per month (both one-off and aggregated), you must end your registration as unemployed.
How long can I be registered as unemployed?
There are no time limits for being registered as unemployed. The termination of unemployment insurance benefit or unemployment allowance will not affect your registration as unemployed.
As a registered unemployed person, you must notify the Unemployment Insurance Fund as soon as you start work, study, conscription, retire early, or otherwise have to end your unemployment registration.
You can notify the Unemployment Insurance Fund of your wish to terminate the registration:
- via the e-unemployment insurance fund (select ‘My data’ and then ‘Report employment’)
- by e-mail or telephone through your consultant
- in person at the office of the Unemployment Insurance Fund
- by calling the Unemployment Insurance Fund at 777 3000
Read more about ending your registration as unemployed on the website of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
References
Services
- Applying for unemployment allowance in the e-unemployment insurance fund
- My personal data in the Health Insurance Fund
- Registering as unemployed in the e-unemployment insurance fund (e-töötukassa)
- Termination of registration as unemployed in the e-unemployment insurance fund