| Basic benefit | €132.46 |
|---|---|
| Supplementary benefit | €120.38 |
| Over the full 156 days | €6,574 |
- An estimate. The Social Insurance Services decide the amount when you claim.
How it is worked out
- Your insurable earnings of 2025 are turned into insurance units: one unit for every €11,480.
- Basic benefit: 60% of the weekly value of the first unit (€220.76 in 2026), 80% with a dependent spouse, 10% more for each of two other dependants.
- Supplementary benefit: 50% of the weekly value of the units above the first, up to €220.76 a week.
- Paid from the fourth day, for up to 156 days. Sundays are not counted.
There is no official worked example to check this against, which is why it is called an estimate. The formula is the law's; the reading of it is ours.
Before you can claim
- You are an employee aged 16 to 63, out of work, able and available to work.
- You have registered as a job seeker with the Public Employment Service and sign the register at the district Social Insurance office.
- At least 26 weeks have passed since your insurance began.
- You earned at least about €4,477 in 2025 (0.39 of a unit).
- Left the job yourself without good cause? The benefit can be withheld for up to six weeks.
Questions people ask
How much is unemployment benefit in Cyprus?
The basic benefit is 60% of the weekly value of your basic insurance, which is at most €220.76 a week in 2026, so up to €132.46. A supplementary benefit adds 50% of the value of your earnings above that basic level, up to €220.76 a week.
For how long is it paid?
For up to 156 days in each period of unemployment, from the fourth day. Sundays are not counted, so 156 days is 26 weeks.
Who is entitled?
Employees aged 16 to 63 who are unemployed, able and available to work and registered as job seekers. At least 26 weeks must have passed since their insurance began, with enough insurance paid in the contribution year that counts. Self-employed people are not entitled.
Which year of earnings counts?
The last contribution year before the benefit year, which runs from July to June. For a claim made from July 2026 to June 2027 it is 2025.
Do I get it if I resign?
A person who leaves a job voluntarily without good cause, or loses it through their own fault, loses the benefit for up to six weeks. It is not refused altogether.
Is there more for dependants?
Yes: the basic benefit rises from 60% to 80% with a dependent spouse, and by 10% for each of up to two other dependants. The supplementary benefit does not change.
Where the rules come from
- European Commission: Your social security rights in Cyprus (July 2026)
- Social Insurance Law 59(I)/2010 (CyLaw)
- Social Insurance Services: basic insurable earnings 1981-2026
Checked 13 November 2026. General information, not legal advice: the law and the Ministry of Labour are the authority.