State TE offices no longer exist in Finland, having transferred their responsibilities to municipal employment services on 1 January 2025. If you lose your job, you must register as an unemployed jobseeker on or before your first day out of work through Job Market Finland, or in person if you cannot use electronic identification. Registering is the prerequisite for claiming unemployment benefit from your fund or social security.
Where the TE office went
TE Services in their old form ended on 1 January 2025, and municipal employment services took over their responsibilities. The state TE offices (TE-toimisto, the state employment and economic development office) were closed and their staff transferred to the municipalities.
Employment services are organised by employment areas or municipalities from 1 January 2025. According to the Finnish Government, Finland has 45 employment areas. Of the 45, 39 use a host-municipality model, 4 cities run their own (Lahti, Kouvola, Helsinki, Vantaa) and 2 use a joint municipal authority.
The transfer did not change the unemployment benefits Kela pays. Labour policy statements (työvoimapoliittinen lausunto), which tell Kela or the fund whether there is a barrier to paying unemployment benefit, are now issued by the municipal employment services and the KEHA Centre (KEHA-keskus).
Registering as a jobseeker
You register as a jobseeker in the E-services section of Job Market Finland (Työmarkkinatori, the national public employment service platform), identifying with online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or a chip-based ID card. If you do not have these credentials yet, your first steps after moving to Finland explain how to obtain e-identification.
If you cannot identify electronically, or are not an EU or EEA citizen, you register at your regional employment service office. You can register before the job ends but must do so no later than the first day of unemployment, because benefits are paid only from the registration date.
To register you must be an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, a family member of one, or hold a residence permit. A residence permit that allows work for only one specific employer bars registration as a jobseeker. Other permit restrictions, such as a permit for one sector, do not prevent registration.
After registering you apply for unemployment benefit from Kela or from your unemployment fund. If you belong to a fund, you can apply for an earnings-related allowance. If you do not belong to a fund, you look at Kela benefits in Finland for basic support.
The initial interview and job search discussions
The employment authority holds an initial interview no later than ten working days after the job search starts, primarily at an employment services location. The initial interview used to be held within five working days; from the beginning of 2026 the limit is ten working days.
In the initial interview you agree how you will use the services and communicate with the employment official. After the initial interview, a job search discussion is held every three months. A new initial interview is organised only if at least six months have passed since your previous job search ended.
The employment plan and the job search obligation
Depending on your situation the plan is an employment plan, an activation plan, an integration plan or a cross-sectoral employment plan, drawn up with your assigned specialist. As a general rule you must apply for four job opportunities a month.
The obligation is set to jobs you could realistically get, taking account of disability and the regional labour market. If there are no suitable job opportunities to apply for, no job search obligation is set. A jobseeker is not obliged to apply for work they could not accept because of their work ability.
You must report completing the tasks in your plan by the agreed deadline, through Job Market Finland or directly to the employment official.
Under the changes in force from the beginning of 2026, part-time jobseekers, who previously had to apply for one job in three months, must apply for four a month like other jobseekers. Jobs assigned by the employment authority must now be applied for from the start of unemployment, not six months after the initial interview.
Integration services and language
The employment authority or municipality assesses your skills, working and functional capacity, and need for integration services. An integration plan includes actions to develop adequate Finnish or Swedish and the knowledge needed in society and working life. Services in an integration plan may include integration training, job-seeking or career coaching and work try-outs. Family members who move with you may also be entitled to integration services.
What happens if you miss an obligation
- The first missed appointment or neglected obligation brings a seven-day waiting period without benefit.
- A second neglect within 12 months ends entitlement to unemployment security until you have met a six-week work obligation.
- Entitlement returns after six calendar weeks of work counting towards the employment condition, employment services, full-time study or full-time self-employment.
- Refusing a job without a valid reason means a 30-day waiting period if the job would have lasted two weeks or less, and 45 days if longer.
- Resigning without a valid reason means a 30-day waiting period if the job would have lasted five days or less, and 45 days otherwise, counted from the end of the job.
On a work-based residence permit
If you are in Finland on an employment-based permit, there are specific legal rules detailed in the guide to losing your job on a Finland residence permit. Since 11 June 2025, people on a work-based residence permit mainly have a three-month protection period to find a new job. Specialists and people who have held a work-based permit in Finland for over two years have six months.
The employer must notify the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri, the immigration authority) of the termination in the Enter Finland online service within 14 days. The permit must remain valid during unemployment, and according to Migri, it may be withdrawn if no new job is found by the end of the protection period and there are no other grounds for residence.
After becoming unemployed, a work-based permit holder may apply for work in national labour shortage sectors set by government decree, such as practical nurses, nurses and metal process operators.
