According to a new study, a high level of state benefit provided to the unemployed people in the country does not take away their commitment to look for jobs. The Scottish study showed evidence that the well-being of unemployed people is not dependent on the amount of state benefit they receive.

The study also showed that the countries that paid the most in unemployment benefit record a high loss of life satisfaction for the jobless. The study conducted by researchers at the Edinburgh University and covered a total of 28 countries all in the European Union countries and Norway and their benefit systems.

Dr Jan Eichhorn, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science said, "Those who claim greater unemployment benefits lead to less motivation for people to seek employment should think again. For most people, it is not the degree of state provisions that determines how they -personally feel about the -experience of being unemployed. -"Unemployment does not just result in a loss of income but also a change in social -position - that is perceived differently in different societies."

The researchers found Luxembourg and Finland were among the leading 25 per cent levels of unemployment benefits but still recorded high level of life dissatisfaction. The opposite was true for the countries of Poland and Romania that were among the bottom 25 per cent in terms of paying unemployment benefits.