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How many job searches do you need for unemployment in Florida?

Different numbers for some people

• Small counties (75,000 people or fewer): 3 a week. Based on the county you live in. On FloridaCommerce's chart (updated February 2024) these counties are at or under 75,000: Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okeechobee, Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Washington. Your Reconnect dashboard has a Required Weekly Work Search tab that shows your number.
• CareerSource visit instead of contacts: 1 a week. For any week, you can go in person to your local CareerSource Florida center and meet a representative for a qualifying service (workshop, skills test, job referral, career counseling). That visit counts in place of the employer contacts for that week.

What counts as a work search in Florida

• Filling out a job application in person or online with an employer who may have openings for your kind of work
• Mailing a job application or resume when a job notice tells you to
• Visiting an employer in person who may have openings
• Interviewing with an employer, in person or by phone
• Applying for jobs through EmployFlorida.com or another job matching site
• Registering with a private employment agency or placement service
• Calling employers to set up job interviews
• A CareerSource service visit, such as a workshop, skills assessment, or job referral (counts in place of the week's contacts)

What doesn’t count

• The same employer at the same location in 3 weeks in a row, unless that employer told you it is hiring

Same employer twice? You can't list the same employer at the same location in 3 weeks in a row, unless the employer has told you since your first contact that it is hiring.

More on this in what counts as a work search contact.

How to report your job contacts

When you request payment in Reconnect, you enter your work search contacts for each week. For each contact you give the date, the employer or website name, how you made contact (in person, online, phone), a phone number, website, street address or email, the type of work you wanted, and the result.

When: Request payment in Reconnect every two weeks, on the date shown on your dashboard. You have 7 days from that date. If you are late, you won't be paid for those weeks and your claim goes inactive.

Where: Reconnect.

When the search starts: From your first week, including the unpaid waiting week. You must report work search contacts for the waiting week too.

Keep a work search log

FloridaCommerce doesn’t have its own log form that we could find. Write down the date, employer, how you contacted them, the job, who you talked to and what happened.

The free myjobcontacts app keeps the same details. Prefer paper? Use the free printable work search log.

Who doesn’t have to search

• You are on a temporary layoff and will go back to your old employer within 8 weeks
• You have a new job that starts within the next 6 weeks
• You are a union member who normally gets work through a union hiring hall (you report to the hall instead)
• You are in training approved by FloridaCommerce
• You are on an approved Short-Time Compensation plan
• FloridaCommerce has waived work search for your county after a disaster (for example, after a hurricane)

Union members: If you normally get work through a union hiring hall, you can meet the work search rule by reporting to your union hall every day.

See work search exemptions for how these work in other states.

Reviews, audits and RESEA

By law, FloridaCommerce does random reviews of the work search contacts people report. It also audits claims to make sure benefits were paid correctly. If you are picked, you may be asked to prove the contacts you listed.

RESEA: You may be picked for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program. If you are, you get a letter in the mail for a required appointment at your local CareerSource center. You will go over your job search, make a plan, and may be sent to workshops or training.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you don't meet the work search rule for a week, you won't be paid for that week. If you were paid for a week you did not qualify for, you will have to pay it back. False statements can be treated as fraud.

Sign up with the job bank

You must register with Employ Florida (EmployFlorida.com) with a valid email, your work history, and a current resume. If you don't finish this, your benefits may be delayed or denied. Some people are exempt, such as people on a temporary layoff of 8 weeks or less and union hiring hall members. Employ Florida.

Questions people in Florida ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in Florida?

Most people must contact at least 5 possible employers each week. If you live in a county with 75,000 people or fewer, the number is 3. Instead of employer contacts, you can meet in person with a CareerSource Florida representative for a qualifying service that week. Some people have a different number: Small counties (75,000 people or fewer) (3); CareerSource visit instead of contacts (1).

What counts as a work search in Florida?

Filling out a job application in person or online with an employer who may have openings for your kind of work; Mailing a job application or resume when a job notice tells you to; Visiting an employer in person who may have openings; Interviewing with an employer, in person or by phone, and 4 more on the list above. Check your notice for anything your state added for you.

Do I have to keep a work search log in Florida?

When you request payment in Reconnect, you enter your work search contacts for each week. For each contact you give the date, the employer or website name, how you made contact (in person, online, phone), a phone number, website, street address or email, the type of work you wanted, and the result.

What happens if I don’t do enough job searches in Florida?

If you don't meet the work search rule for a week, you won't be paid for that week. If you were paid for a week you did not qualify for, you will have to pay it back. False statements can be treated as fraud.

Who doesn’t have to look for work in Florida?

You are on a temporary layoff and will go back to your old employer within 8 weeks. You have a new job that starts within the next 6 weeks. You are a union member who normally gets work through a union hiring hall (you report to the hall instead). Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does Florida check or audit work search records?

By law, FloridaCommerce does random reviews of the work search contacts people report. It also audits claims to make sure benefits were paid correctly. If you are picked, you may be asked to prove the contacts you listed.

Checked against FloridaCommerce’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm how long to keep your records, the job bank link on an official page, so check your notice for those.

Sources

• FloridaCommerce: Request Benefit Payment (work search requirements)
• Reemployment Assistance Benefit Rights Information Handbook, 2026 Edition (version 8.21.2026)
• FloridaCommerce Work Search Requirements graphic
• Learn Your Required Number of Work Searches: county population chart (updated Feb 2024)
• Florida Statutes 443.091 (2025)
• FloridaCommerce guide: Certain Exemptions to Eligibility Requirements (rev. 09.06.2024)
• FloridaCommerce: Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment Program
• Florida SB 216 (2026) bill history
• US DOL Comparison of State UI Laws 2023, Ch. 5, Tables 5-14 (work search requirements) and 5-15 (reporting and monitoring)

Work search rules in every state

myjobcontacts is not a government website and this is not legal advice. Rules change, and your own claim notice or letter is what counts. If something here doesn’t match what your state told you, follow your state.