HARLINGEN — Texas Workforce Commission officials Tuesday announced job search requirements suspended temporarily during the COVID-19 crisis will be reinstated July 6.
That means all unemployed Texans will have to file a work search document in order to continue receiving benefits. The first work search report claimants will be required to file will occur on July 19.
“The COVID-19 crisis has been difficult for everyone, creating new challenges for workers, employers and their families,” said TWC Executive Director Ed Serna. “Let me be clear: we are not over it. But we’re seeing employment opportunities begin to bounce back in Texas as our economy restarts. There are opportunities out there, and getting Texans back to work and businesses up and running again will create even more.”
Currently there are more than 530,000 jobs listed on the TWC’s online jobs portal, www.WorkInTexas.com
Reinstating a work search doesn’t mean anybody needs to take the first job that pops up, TWC officials said. It’s just a return to the pre-coronavirus rules that mandate documented job searches in order to continue receiving benefits.
With the work search requirements back in place, jobless Texans qualifying for unemployment benefits can continue to receive those payments for up to 39 weeks.
Furloughed workers with a definite return date to their previous jobs —within 12 weeks of being laid off — are exempt from the work search requirement.
