Unemployment Benefit Calculator
Estimates Brazilian unemployment benefit installments based on the average of the last 3 salaries (2024 table).
How does unemployment benefit work?
The math starts from the average of your last 3 salaries. Under the 2024 bands, up to R$2,041.39 the value is 80% of that average. Above it, you apply R$1,633.11 plus 50% of whatever exceeds R$2,041.39, always within the R$2,313.74 cap.
How many installments you get (3 to 5) depends on your registered tenure over the last 3 years. This tool sticks to computing the installment value.
The 2024 figures are approximate; confirm at gov.br/trabalho.
How Brazilian unemployment insurance is actually calculated
The seguro-desemprego is a temporary cash benefit paid to formal workers (CLT) dismissed without just cause, defined by Lei 7.998/1990 and reshaped by Lei 13.134/2015. The amount is not a flat percentage of the last salary: it uses the average of the worker's last three monthly wages and feeds that average into a tiered formula reviewed annually by the Ministry of Labor.
For the 2024 reference table: if the three-month average is up to R$ 2,041.39, the installment equals 80% of that average. Between R$ 2,041.40 and R$ 3,402.65, the formula is 1,633.10 + (avg − 2,041.39) × 0.50. Above that, the installment is capped at R$ 2,313.74. The floor is the national minimum wage (R$ 1,412 in 2024, R$ 1,518 in 2025). Concrete example: a worker who earned R$ 2,500/month for the last three months receives 1,633.10 + (2,500 − 2,041.39) × 0.50 = R$ 1,862.41 per installment.
Eligibility and number of installments
The number of installments (3, 4 or 5) depends on how long the worker stayed in the job and how many times they have already claimed the benefit. First request: at least 12 months of formal work in the last 18 months. Second request: 9 months in the last 12. Third request onward: 6 months. The benefit is requested through the gov.br Carteira de Trabalho Digital app or at SINE units, from the 7th to the 120th day after dismissal.
FAQ
Can I work informally while receiving the benefit? No. Any new formal employment immediately cancels the remaining installments. Informal income is also illegal and considered fraud against social security.
Is the value adjusted annually? Yes — the brackets are corrected by INPC every January, together with the minimum wage update. The figures here reflect the 2024 table; verify the current table on gov.br before relying on the projection.
Does the calculator include income tax? No — the seguro-desemprego is exempt from IRRF by law (Decreto 9.580/2018, art. 35). The amount shown is what the worker actually receives.
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Estimate your unemployment benefit
Being dismissed without cause in Brazil gives you the right to unemployment benefit, but mind this: the instalments don't reach the full salary amount. They follow a table with bands and ceilings. From the average of your last salaries, this calculator estimates how much would land in your account.
Taking the average of the last three salaries, it runs through the official table's bands until it reaches each instalment's value. Knowing this figure ahead of time is what helps you organise your finances during that transition period between one job and the next.
The math happens in the browser, without storing your data, and works as an estimate on top of the current table. The official amount and number of instalments depend on your work history and are set by the labour ministry.