Job search requirements

The chart below includes the current list of approved job search activities. You must complete three each week.

We've recently expanded this list to make your job search more meaningful – and provide many options that can be done virtually!

Employers are hiring throughout the state, so whatever your experience or industry, make these job search activities work for you and help you land the job you really want.

Name, date and location.
Screen shot or scan of registration receipt.

Name, date and location.
Screen shot or scan of registration receipt.

Name, date and location
Screen shot or scan of registration receipt.

The required license’s renewal.
The completed on-boarding document requirements on an app-based platform.
A completed vehicle inspection.
A contact with an app-based platform’s support to get help on-boarding or activating an account.

Job search FAQ

I am receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Do I need to look for work?

Yes. You are required to complete at least one approved job search activity, even if you are on PUA. We strongly encourage you to complete at least three activities because:

The PUA program expired on the week ending Sept. 4, 2021.
It can prevent possible issues in the future. If we need to re-evaluate your claim, and find past weeks of yours are eligible for regular unemployment instead of PUA, completing three searches will meet the requirement for regular unemployment benefits and may prevent issues or overpayments on past weeks. You can learn more about why we would re-evaluate your claim on the Potential new claim alert page of our website.

What job search activities are only available to claimants who receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)?

Activity type	Approved job search activity	Documentation ideas
Self-employed and/or business owners ONLY	Advertising your business to new and potential customers.	Link or screenshot of your ad (digital, newspaper, social media, etc.).
Self-employed and/or business owners ONLY	Bidding on jobs.	Copy or picture of the proposal submitted for the bid.
Self-employed and/or business owners ONLY	Contacting potential or former clients.	Name, date contacted and contact information (email or phone number) of the client contacted.
Self-employed and/or business owners ONLY	Attending a webinar or workshop to develop business-related skills or learn a new trade.	Registration letter or email confirming attendance, or certificate of completion for the workshop or webinar.
Self-employed and/or business owners ONLY	Using small business services, or consulting with a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) professional (for example: using services on websites such as business.wa.gov or sba.gov).	Screenshot to show proof of visit and engagement with a small business service website.

Name and contact of loan officer for your business loan.

Screenshot with timestamp of website updates for your business website.

I cannot work because I am at high-risk for COVID-19. Do I still need to complete the job search activities?

Yes. If you are unemployed, it is required by law that you must complete the required job search activities to remain eligible for benefits.

Keep in mind that there are many activities that can be done virtually.
You can also keep looking for suitable work that can be done from home.

I am self-employed and/or own a business. Do I still need to complete job search activities?

Yes. By law you do need to complete the job search activities to remain eligible for benefits. If you are receiving PUA, you need to complete at least one. If you are receiving regular unemployment you need to complete at least three.

Three things to know:

Most activities do not include applying for jobs with other employers.
There are approved activities specific to self-employed and business owners to make meeting this requirement more relevant to you.
You can complete any of the approved activities to meet the requirement. You don’t have to stick to only those approved for self-employed and/or business owners.

I’m working part-time because of the pandemic. Do I still need to look for work to receive unemployment benefits?

Yes. You are required to look for suitable full-time work, even if you took a part-time job.

I am caring for someone else and can’t work. Do I still need to look for work to receive unemployment benefits?

Yes. You must continue to meet the job search requirement to remain eligible for unemployment benefits, even if you are caring for someone else. This includes children who are out of school or daycare due to the pandemic.

Are you receiving Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits? This program is different from Unemployment Insurance and has different requirements. If you are receiving Paid Family and Medical Leave because you are temporarily off work and caring for a family member who is ill or injured, the job search requirement does not apply. Go to paidleave.wa.gov for more information about that program. You cannot receive both unemployment insurance and Paid Family and Medical Leave at the same time.

Why was I denied for standby when I have a return to work date from my employer?

Reinstating standby in our system is taking longer than anticipated and it may create some complications for certain standby requests.

You may be initially denied standby and later approved if you:

Are connected to an employer, and
Have a return to work date, and
Used standby earlier in the pandemic, and
Do not have sufficient weeks left of standby on your active claim to be approved for a new request of standby.

If this applies to you, the old weeks of standby will be cleared once we update our system. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If the conditions above do not apply to you, check your denial letter for the reason/s you were denied standby.

3 things to know:

You must meet the job search requirements until you hear from us that you are approved for standby.
- Do you already have a return to work date with your current employer? You still must complete the required number of job search activities until you are approved for standby.
- If you have a job and a return date to that employer, we strongly encourage you to complete job search activities that do not require you apply for jobs or make an employer contact. This will help to not jeopardize your current employer relationship.
You may receive a denial letter that says you don’t have enough weeks of standby available, but you may later be approved for standby when our system is fully updated.
- We expect our system to be fully updated for these standby requests in August.
- Complete the required job search activities (not necessarily applying with other employers if you have a job and a return date to that employer) until you receive an approval letter.
Denial of standby does NOT mean you are denied unemployment benefits.
- Standby ONLY waives the job search requirements. It has nothing to do with eligibility for benefits.

What are the basic requirements to claim unemployment benefits?