Information for younger jobseekers

Young people must meet the same conditions as other jobseekers to get a jobseeker's payment but you may need targeted supports to help you enter the workforce. A Youth Guarantee was introduced (see below) to support all young jobseekers and give you access to training, education, work experience or full-time employment.

If you have just left school you cannot get Jobseeker's Allowance. To get Jobseeker's Allowance you must have been out of school for 3 months and you must be at least 18 years of age. The 3-month period starts from the day you leave school or the day following your last exam if you are doing exams.

People aged under 25 who do not have children get a reduced rate of Jobseeker's Allowance. If you take up a place on an education, training or work experience scheme, you will get a higher rate of payment. You can visit our pages on education and training options and on employment support schemes to get more information on the rates paid.

The reduced personal and qualified adult rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) for people under 25 do not apply to:

• People with dependent children
• People living independently and getting a state housing support such as Rent Supplement, Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) or Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), Local Authority Housing or housing provided by certain Approved Housing Bodies
• People transferring from Disability Allowance to JA
• People whose claim is linked to a previous JA claim made within the previous 12 months to which the maximum personal rate applied
• Certain children who were in the care of the HSE or the Child and Family Agency (TUSLA) during the 12 months before reaching 18. These people are assessed using the JA rate for people aged 25 or over.

If you were getting an age-related reduced rate of JA and you take part in a course of education or training or an employment scheme, the reduced personal rate of payment applicable to that course or scheme will apply as long as you are aged under 25. When you complete the course, you will go back to your previous age-related JA rate.

Living in family home

If you are under 25 and you are living with a parent or a step-parent in the family home, your parents' income is taken into account when being assessed for Jobseeker’s Allowance. No assessment is made if you are living with other relatives, for example, a brother or sister or with non-relatives.

You must have at least 104 social insurance contributions (2 years) to qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB). This means that many young people do not qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit if they lose their job or cannot find employment. If you worked part-time during school or college, you may have enough PRSI contributions to qualify for JB, but if your average weekly earnings were below €300 you may only qualify for a lower rate of JB.

Third-level students cannot claim Jobseeker's Allowance or Benefit while you are studying full-time. This disqualification also applies to the summer holiday periods between academic years (unless you are a mature student or you are getting Back to Education Allowance). However, once you have finished college permanently, you can claim a jobseeker's payment if you cannot find work. This is also the case if you leave college without finishing your course. You may be able to claim a jobseeker’s payment while you are working on a project or research thesis if you are available for work during this time.

Student credits may help you to qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit. They are awarded where you were a full-time student during the relevant tax year and had paid contributions before going to college or during the period spent at college.

You must have:

• Paid contributions at Class A
• Started full-time education before 23 years of age
• Re-entered insurable employment after the course is finished

Student credits can only be awarded only once.

All Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) participants aged under 26 who were getting a reduced age-related Jobseeker’s Allowance payment, will get a maximum BTEA rate. Your means will be deducted from this rate. If you were getting the Back to Education Allowance during your second-level studies, you can claim JA immediately.

The Youth Guarantee aims to provide young people under the age of 25 with a good quality offer of employment, education, training or apprenticeship within a short time of leaving education or becoming unemployed. It is an EU initiative developed in response to the youth unemployment crisis.

In Ireland, the Guarantee was introduced on a phased basis (pdf). Aims under the Guarantee include:

• Young people under 18 who have left the school system without completing secondary education and who are unemployed will be given a ‘second chance’ education pathway such as Youthreach or will be supported to re-enter the school system.
• Young people aged 18-24 who have been unemployed for 4 months will get help to find work or will get an offer of quality training, education or work experience.

Under the Youth Guarantee a range of initiatives are being put in place.

The qualifying period for JobsPlus (called JobsPlus Youth) for jobseekers under 25 is 4 months. (It remains at 12 months for other jobseekers.) Eligible young people will be given certification that they qualify for the JobsPlus subsidy and they can use this when applying for jobs.

You can find more information about employment supports for young jobseekers in our document about Employment schemes for young people.

You can apply for Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance:

• Online at MyWelfare.ie
• In person at your Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.