Unless you live on a beach, or are independently wealthy, there’s no ideal place to be unemployed. Compounding wounded egos and self-confidence, unemployment benefits represent a fraction of a worker’s previous salary and leave those without jobs short on bills, mortgage payments and living expenses.
But in some countries that fraction is bigger than others.
Laid-off
Danes who have worked 52 weeks over the previous three years are eligible to receive 90% of their average earnings for up to four years.
Unemployed job seekers in
Norway and
Finland are almost as well off. In Norway the unemployed receive 87.6% of their previous salaries for 500 days and in Finland they receive 85.1% of their previous salaries for one year.
And in
Sweden,
Israel,
Japan and
Germany, the unemployed can claim benefits worth between 66% and 90% of their last salaries.
But many European countries, the Scandinavian ones in particular, have voluntary unemployment insurance–albeit government-subsidized–and low unemployment rates.
Denmark’s unemployment stands at 3.1%, according to the International Monetary Fund, and Norway has 2.5% unemployment by the IMF’s count. Of course, neither of these countries is rapidly growing.
Denmark is chugging along at 1.1%, according to the IMF, and even with its booming oil wealth, Norway is growing at 3.1%, making unemployment and payments a secondary concern to the European economy.
World's Best Places For Unemployment Pay - Forbes
