Calculator for Spain. The rates, thresholds and reference prices used here come from Spanish legislation and market data, so the result does not apply to other countries.
Spanish Unemployment Benefit Calculator 2026
Estimate your contributory unemployment benefit from your regulatory base and days contributed: monthly amount, duration and total.
Parameters last reviewed on 05/09/2026 · Sources: SEPE, Seguridad Social
This tool uses your gross monthly salary as an approximation; the actual benefit depends on your unemployment contribution bases.
Unemployment benefit (commonly known as 'el paro') is a contributory benefit from the Spanish Social Security system that compensates for income loss when a worker is in a legal situation of unemployment. To be entitled to it, you must have contributed at least 360 days (12 months) in the last 6 years before becoming unemployed.
This calculator estimates the benefit amount and its duration from your regulatory base — the average of your unemployment contribution bases over the last 180 days, which we approximate with your monthly gross salary — and the days contributed. The benefit is 70% of the regulatory base for the first 180 days (6 months) and 60% from the seventh month onwards, with a maximum and minimum cap set by the IPREM. Results are indicative; the SEPE applies actual contribution base data.
Average of your unemployment contribution bases over the last 180 days. If you do not know it, your monthly gross salary is a reasonable approximation.
Total duration
240 days
(8 months)
First 6 months
1050,00 €
70% regulatory base
From month 7
1050,00 €
60% regulatory base
Estimated gross total
8400,00 €
Indicative estimate. For your exact benefit calculation, consult the SEPE electronic office with your Social Security contributions report.
How unemployment benefit is calculated
The calculation combines two independent elements. The first is the amount, which starts from the regulatory base — the average of unemployment contribution bases over the last 180 days worked — and applies 70% for the first six months and 60% thereafter, always within the minimum and maximum caps linked to the IPREM. The second is the duration, which depends solely on days contributed in the six years preceding legal unemployment, following a scale that grants 120 days of benefit for the first 360 contributed and adds 60 days for each additional 180, up to a maximum of 720 days.
Worked example
Someone with a regulatory base of €1,800 a month and 1,080 days contributed. On duration, 1,080 days entitles them to 360 days of benefit, that is, one year. On amount, for the first 180 days they would receive 70% of €1,800, about €1,260 a month; from day 181 they would move to 60%, about €1,080. From those gross amounts you must deduct income tax withholding and the social security contribution that the worker continues to pay during the benefit period.
Benefit duration by days contributed
| Days contributed | Days of benefit |
|---|---|
| 360 days | 120 |
| 720 days | 240 |
| 1,080 days | 360 |
| 1,440 days | 480 |
| 1,800 days | 600 |
| 2,160 days or more | 720 |
How to interpret the result
The figure you get is the gross amount: income tax withholding, usually lower than on a payslip, and the worker's share of social security contributions are deducted, since the employment service maintains your contributions while you claim. Bear in mind too that the benefit must be applied for within 15 working days of leaving your job, and applying late does not shorten its duration but does mean you lose the days elapsed since the deadline. If you work part-time while claiming, the amount is reduced in proportion to your hours, but the consumption of days is adjusted too.
Who is entitled and who is not
Losing your job is not enough on its own: you must be in what the law calls a legal situation of unemployment. Entitlement arises from dismissal (fair, unfair or collective), the end of a temporary contract, failing the probation period when the employer takes that decision, terminating the contract within nine months of a substantial change of conditions, and resignation with just cause, such as repeated non-payment of wages. Voluntary resignation without cause, voluntary leave of absence and retirement do not qualify. You also need at least 360 days contributed within the previous six years, registration as a jobseeker and a signed activity commitment. If you fall short of those 360 days, the route is not the contributory benefit but the subsidy, which has different income requirements and amounts.
Deadlines and procedures that cause the most trouble
You have fifteen working days from the day after your job ends to apply; applying later does not shorten the total duration, but you do lose the days that passed since the deadline expired, and those days are gone for good. While claiming, you must keep your jobseeker registration active and meet the activity commitment: turning down a suitable job offer, missing an appointment or failing to attend training can lead to anything from temporary suspension to termination of the benefit if repeated. If you find part-time work, the benefit is reduced in proportion to your hours and the consumption of days is adjusted accordingly. And if you travel abroad, you must report it: short stays are allowed with prior authorisation, but leaving without notice is one of the most frequent causes of termination.