What is the salaire journalier de référence (SJR)?

The SJR is your total reference gross salary divided by the number of calendar days in the reference period, normally the last 24 months (36 months if you are 53 or older). It is the base figure from which the daily ARE is calculated.

How is the daily ARE calculated?

The daily allocation is the higher of two formulas: 40.4% of the SJR plus a fixed daily part, or 57% of the SJR. Whichever produces the larger amount is used, then the minimum floor and the 75%-of-SJR maximum cap are applied.

What is the maximum and minimum?

The daily allocation cannot exceed 75% of your SJR, and it is floored at a fixed minimum daily amount (around €31.97 in 2024) unless the SJR itself is lower. Higher earners are constrained by the cap, lower earners are lifted by the floor.

Is the result gross or net?

The figures shown are gross ARE. Social levies such as CSG and CRDS may be deducted depending on your situation, so the amount actually paid into your account can be slightly lower. The calculator reports the gross entitlement before those deductions.

Why are the rates editable?

France Travail revalues the fixed part and the minimum allocation periodically. The constants are exposed as inputs so you can update them when a new revaluation takes effect, keeping the calculation accurate without waiting for a tool update.

France Allocation Chômage (ARE) Calculator

The Allocation d’aide au retour à l’emploi (ARE) is France’s main unemployment benefit, and its amount turns on a single figure: the salaire journalier de référence (SJR). This calculator derives the SJR, applies the dual ARE formula, and enforces the statutory floor and 75% cap so jobseekers can estimate their daily and monthly entitlement.

How it works

First the daily reference wage, then the allocation:

SJR        = reference gross salary / calendar days in the period
formula A  = 0.404 × SJR + fixed daily part
formula B  = 0.57 × SJR
daily ARE  = max(A, B)
            then floor at the minimum (but not above SJR)
            then cap at 0.75 × SJR
monthly    = daily ARE × days in the month

The “max of A and B” structure means lower SJRs are usually governed by formula A (thanks to the fixed part) and higher SJRs by formula B, until the 75% cap binds.

Example and notes

With €36,000 of reference salary over 547 days, the SJR is about €65.81. Formula A gives 0.404 × 65.81 + 13.11 ≈ €39.69; formula B gives 0.57 × 65.81 ≈ €37.51. The higher value, €39.69, is below the 75% cap of €49.36, so the daily ARE is about €39.69 — roughly €1,190 over a 30-day month.

Notes: the figures are gross; CSG/CRDS and pension-point deductions can reduce the net amount. Eligibility, degressivity for higher earners, and reference-period rules can change the outcome, so use this as an estimate, not legal advice.