Earning on the side while on unemployment benefit
Until the end of 2025 a small job alongside Austrian unemployment benefit was allowed. Since 1 January 2026 it is the exception. Who still qualifies and what a short job costs.
Since 1 January 2026, even a marginal side job (geringfügige Beschäftigung, a mini-job below the social insurance threshold) is in principle no longer allowed alongside Austrian unemployment benefit or emergency assistance: anyone in employment or self-employment does not count as unemployed. Until 2025 you could earn up to the marginal-earnings limit, €551.10 a month in 2026, and keep your full benefit. Section 12(2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act now lists five exceptions: a mini-job you already held for 26 uninterrupted weeks next to fully insured work; a one-off mini-job for up to 26 weeks after 365 days on benefit; an open-ended mini-job after 365 days if you are 50 or older or have a recognised disability; up to 26 weeks after at least 52 weeks of illness; and a mini-job during an AMS retraining course of at least 4 months and 25 hours a week. Earning more than €551.10 means you are not unemployed for that period. A job agreed for less than 4 weeks is offset instead: 90 % of net pay above the limit, spread over the calendar days. Every job must be reported to the AMS immediately.
What a side job costs you on benefit in 2026
Benefit per month
€1,303
| Side earnings | €300 |
| Marginal limit | €551.10 |
| Status | only allowed in exceptions (since 2026) |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
What changed on 1 January 2026
Until the end of 2025 a mini-job was a normal part of being unemployed in Austria: you kept your full benefit as long as you stayed under the marginal-earnings limit. Since 2026, as the Chamber of Labour guide to unemployment insurance puts it, anyone in employed or self-employed work is not unemployed, so even a marginal side income is generally not permitted. The same applies to emergency assistance (Notstandshilfe). The exceptions are listed exhaustively in section 12(2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act.
The limit itself has not moved: €551.10 gross a month (ÖGK health insurer, 2026 values; the AMS publishes the same figure). Pay up to that amount is not subject to social insurance contributions and counts as marginal, according to the Chamber of Labour. What such a job pays net is on the page about marginal employment.
The five exceptions
| Case | condition | how long |
|---|---|---|
| Existing mini-job | held for at least 26 uninterrupted weeks next to fully insured work | no limit |
| After a year on benefit | 365 days of unemployment benefit or Notstandshilfe, gaps up to 62 days ignored | once, up to 26 weeks |
| Age 50+ or disability | 365 days on benefit plus age 50, recognised disability (section 2 BEinstG) or a disability pass | no limit |
| After long illness | at least 52 weeks on sick pay, rehabilitation or retraining allowance | up to 26 weeks |
| During retraining | AMS course of at least 4 months and 25 hours a week | while the course lasts |
The first exception requires that the mini-job ran alongside a fully insured job. If you only ever had the mini-job, or started it during your notice period, it does not apply. The second exception can be used once per person.
Unemployment benefit from your last salary
Daily rate
€43.61
| per month (30 days) | €1,308 |
| Basic amount 55% | €42.46 |
| Top-up | €1.15 |
Above the limit: no benefit at all
Income above €551.10 ends your unemployment for the duration of the job. Benefit is not reduced pro rata; nothing is paid for that period. For self-employed work the limit is €551.10 a month or €6,613.20 a year. Anyone compulsorily pension-insured as self-employed, for instance with an active trade licence, is never unemployed, and neither is someone running a farm with an assessed value above €18,370. Helping out in a spouse’s, parent’s or child’s business also rules out unemployment if the work would be worth more than the marginal limit.
Short jobs of less than four weeks
A job agreed for less than 4 weeks is handled differently. The AMS subtracts the marginal limit from your net pay, takes 90.0 % of the rest and divides it by the calendar days of the month. That daily amount comes off your benefit, and the reduced benefit is paid for the days on which you did not work.
| Job paying €1,200 net | Job paying €2,500 net | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily benefit before | €47.73 | €47.73 |
| Daily offset (90.0 % above €551.10, ÷ 30) | €19.47 | €58.47 |
| Benefit per day not worked | €28.26 | lost for the whole month |
In the first case you keep your €1,200 wage plus 9 days of reduced benefit, €1,454 in total against €1,432 without the job. In the second, the offset exceeds the daily rate and the benefit is lost for the entire calendar month, even though the job lasted three weeks.
When freelance and farm income count as marginal
For self-employed work, section 12(6) AlVG tests two figures: income plus the social insurance contributions deducted as expenses, and 11.1 % of turnover. Neither may exceed the marginal limit. A freelancer invoicing €6,000 in a month is therefore over the line even if little profit remains after costs. For farmers, 3.0 % of the assessed farm value counts; the €18,370 threshold is exactly the value at which that 3.0 % reaches the monthly marginal limit. Since 2026 being marginal is not enough for these groups either: one of the five exceptions must also apply.
Report before you start
Every job must be reported to the AMS without delay, including a permitted mini-job. The consequences of not doing so are severe: if you are found working unreported, earnings above the limit are assumed and cannot be disproved. Benefit for that time is reclaimed, for at least 4 weeks. Training of up to 3 months a year is always allowed, and an AMS course does not count as employment in the first place (section 12(5) AlVG). Earning money while on childcare allowance follows completely different rules, explained on childcare allowance and side earnings.