Labor Department Unveils Plan to Tighten Unemployment Work-Search Standards

Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling testifies during a Senate hearing on May 19, 2026.

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Department of Labor proposed a rule Monday that would significantly raise the threshold for unemployment insurance eligibility, requiring claimants to document at least five work-search activities per week to receive benefits.

The Trump administration framed the proposal as a measure to bolster the “integrity and accountability” of the federal-state unemployment system. However, worker advocates warned that the mandated baseline exceeds requirements in most states and would create new barriers for applicants seeking assistance.

Currently, no uniform national standard governs work-search obligations for unemployment claimants. While federal law requires states to maintain some form of work-search requirement, they retain broad discretion to define eligibility criteria, benefit amounts, and duration of payments.

Qualifying activities typically include submitting job applications, creating profiles on employment platforms, or attending networking events, though definitions vary by state.

According to Michele Evermore, senior director of economic security and worker transitions at the National Employment Law Project, only four states currently mandate a minimum of five weekly work searches. The majority require fewer.

Under the proposed rule, individuals would need to complete and report at least five qualifying activities each week before payments are issued, according to the department’s announcement.

“This proposed rule helps jobseekers find work faster and ensures efficient use of taxpayer resources while improving the overall integrity of our unemployment system,” Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling stated in the release.

A 60-day public comment period is now open.

“Unemployment insurance is meant to be temporary support while you find your next job, not a permanent taxpayer-funded paycheck,” Sonderling posted Monday on X.

In most states, jobless workers are generally ineligible for benefits beyond six months. Evermore characterized the proposal as a dramatic restructuring of the unemployment safety net that would complicate benefit retention for claimants and impose substantial administrative costs on states.

“Not only is the proposed change devastating to claimants who may not have five search options for every week they are unemployed, but it will likely cost states hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Evermore said. “Nearly all states will have to change their claimant intake forms, and with it, their technology — a costly fix. Many states will have to rewrite their laws to meet this rule.”

She added that it is “highly unusual for the Department of Labor to unilaterally change how states run their [unemployment insurance] systems absent clear direction from Congress.”

The department’s rule “strongly encourages” states to permit “a wide variety of work search activities” to satisfy the requirement, Evermore noted.

The proposal arrives amid a labor market economists describe as “low hire, low fire,” characterized by suppressed hiring and historically low layoff rates. This reduced churn limits opportunities for job seekers.

The proportion of long-term unemployed workers — those jobless for more than six months — has risen significantly. As of October, 27.6% of unemployed workers fell into this category, up from 20.5% three years prior.

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