Unemployment Insurance in Brazil 2026 (Seguro-Desemprego): Who Gets It, How Much and How Many Installments

Updated October 29, 2026

Brazilian workers dismissed without cause can get unemployment insurance (seguro-desemprego): 3 to 5 monthly installments, from R$ 1,621.00 (the minimum wage) to R$ 2,518.65 in 2026. The amount depends on the average of the last three salaries; the number of installments, on how long you worked and how many times you have applied before.

1. Who is entitled

You were dismissed without cause or left by indirect termination (when the employer commits a serious breach);
You worked with a formal contract for the minimum time in the table below;
You have no other income of your own enough to live on;
You do not receive a continuing INSS benefit — a survivor pension and the accident allowance do not block it.

No right to it: resignation, dismissal for cause and the mutual-agreement termination (CLT art. 484-A), even with the 80% FGTS withdrawal.

2. Time worked and number of installments

Request	Minimum to qualify	3 installments	4 installments	5 installments
1st	12 months in the last 18	–	12 to 23 months	24 months or more
2nd	9 months in the last 12	9 to 11 months	12 to 23 months	24 months or more
3rd on	6 months in a row before the dismissal	6 to 11 months	12 to 23 months	24 months or more

The installments count the months worked in the last 36 months, adding up different jobs. A month counts when you worked at least 15 days in it (Law 7,998/1990, as amended by Law 13,134/2015).

3. Installment value in 2026

Average of the last 3 salaries	Installment
Up to R$ 2,222.17	80% of the average
R$ 2,222.18 to R$ 3,703.99	R$ 1,777.74 + 50% of what exceeds R$ 2,222.17
Above R$ 3,703.99	R$ 2,518.65 (fixed)

The installment is never below the minimum wage. The table applies from 11 January 2026 and is adjusted every year by the INPC inflation index (3.90% this time). If you received fewer than three salaries in the last job, the average uses the ones you received.

4. Examples

Salary average	Calculation	Installment
R$ 1,800.00	80% = R$ 1,440.00, below the minimum	R$ 1,621.00
R$ 2,800.00	R$ 1,777.74 + 50% × R$ 577.83	R$ 2,066.66
R$ 5,000.00	above R$ 3,703.99	R$ 2,518.65

With a R$ 2,800 average and 24 months worked, a first request pays 5 installments: R$ 10,333.30 in total.

5. How to apply

Deadline: from the 7th to the 120th day after the dismissal. After that, the right to that request is lost.
Where: on the Carteira de Trabalho Digital app, on gov.br or at a Sine employment office. The employer reports the dismissal to the government through eSocial; keep the termination statement at hand.
Payment: the first installment is usually paid about 30 days after the request, through Caixa (your own account or the digital social savings account in the Caixa Tem app), and the others every 30 days.

6. When the benefit stops

A new formal job: the remaining installments are suspended and can be used after a later dismissal.
Refusing a suitable job offered by Sine, or fraud (such as working off the books while receiving it): cancellation and repayment.
An active company registration (CNPJ), including an MEI, can block the request; you then have to show the company does not give you enough income to live on.

Domestic workers have their own rule: 3 installments of one minimum wage, after 15 months worked in the last 24.

Do the maths

In the unemployment insurance calculator, type the last three salaries and the months worked to see the installment, the number of installments and the total. For what the employer owes when you leave — salary balance, notice, 13th salary, vacation and the FGTS fine — use the severance calculator.

In January 2027 the floor rises with the new minimum wage (see the 2027 minimum wage guide) and the table is adjusted by the INPC; we will update this guide.

Sources: Law 7,998/1990; Law 13,134/2015; Ministry of Labour and Employment, 2026 unemployment insurance table.

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