Texas Work Search Requirements

  • Register for a job seeker account at WorkInTexas.com. This is absolutely required if you live in Texas!
  • If you are living outside of Texas, register at a Public Workforce Office at the state you reside in.
  • Actively search for work. See "Work Search Activities" section below.
  • You should perform at least three work search activities every week
  • Keep good record of all those activities. Make a list of the work search activities for every week. Records should be verifiable and include the type of work search activity, type of job you were applying for, the date you performed each activity, contact names and titles, addresses (can be postal address, email address, or web forms), and the result of each work search activity performed.
  • Keep those records at a safe place, do not send them in unless requested by TWC. The TWC may request records for any week any time during your benefit year.


Furloughed Workers

  • Furloughed employees with a return to work date within 12 weeks of the layoff date are exempt from the work search requirements.
  • Furloughed employees with a return to work date after 12 weeks can receive a waiver from work search requirements, at the discretion of the Texas Workforce Commission.


Self-Employed

  • If you are self employed you do not need to complete work search requirements.
  • Self-Employed are required to continue taking steps towards reopening their business.
  • If you are not planning to reopen your business, normal work search requirements will apply.


Work Search Verification

The TWC verifies that UI claimants perform their required work search activities weekly. If you submit false info you may lose your benefits, be required to pay back benefits, and even be prosecuted.

Work Search Activities

Acceptable Work Search Activities each week can include, but are not limited to:
  • Use WorkInTexas.com, find job opportunities, follow up with the contacts.
  • Follow up on leads from job opportunities at Public Workforce Offices in your state
  • Register at a private employment agency.
  • Register at a placement facility of a college or school or university if it's available for your field of work.
  • Apply for a job at employers who are reasonably expected to be hiring and have suitable work. Applications may be submitted online, in person, by fax, by email, or in any other manner as appropriate for that type of job and as directed by the employer.
  • Use re-employment resources available at Workforce Solutions Offices that may lead directly to you finding a job, such as:
  • Obtain, use labor market data and information
  • Participate in reemployment services designed for job seekers determined to be at high risk of exhausting their UI benefits.
  • Obtain and follow up on job contacts and opportunities you get from the Workforce Solutions staff.
  • Participate in skill, vocational, and other assessments for occupational employment matching.
  • Attend instructional workshops (for example resume preparation workshops, interview skills, job searching techniques.)
  • Participate in any other job search activities offered by Workforce Solutions Offices including Job Fairs, Employment workshops, and other employment related classes
  • Use Career Tools available on WorkInTexas.com designed to guide and improve your ability to become re-employed, including:
    • Job Match Advisor
    • Resume distribution services to other job boards
    • National Labor Exchange Job Boards such as VetCentral and JobCentral
    • Use the US Dept of Labor CareerOneStop and mySkillsmyFuture to explore career options.