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

What counts as a work search in Kansas

• Applying for a job online, in person or by mail
• Sending a resume to an employer that takes resumes
• Visiting employers who may have openings
• A job interview, in person or by phone
• Registering with a workforce center or a private job agency
• Workshops, skills tests and job referrals at a workforce center
• Job fairs, job search seminars and networking meetings
• Using KANSASWORKS.com to find jobs
• Reporting to your union hall, if that is how you find work

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

How to report your job contacts

Enter each activity in the Work Search Journal in the KDOL Claimant Portal. The portal will not let you submit your weekly certification until you have entered at least 3, with at least 1 application or resume. Each activity must fall inside the week you are filing for. Keep your own record too, in case KDOL asks.

When: File a weekly certification every week in the Claimant Portal.

Where: KDOL Claimant Portal.

Keep a work search log

KDOL 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 in approved training, including Trade Act training
• The governor has declared a disaster emergency and the work search rule is waived
• You are on temporary unemployment as Kansas law defines it, a placement union member in good standing, in the Shared Work program, or in RESEA (these groups are left out of the My Reemployment Plan program; check your notice for work search)

Union members: Active members in good standing of a placement union are left out of the My Reemployment Plan program. Check your notice for whether you must also search.

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

Reviews, audits and RESEA

KDOL can ask for your work search record. A 2024 law also lets employers report people who skip interviews or don't follow work search rules, starting no earlier than January 1, 2026.

RESEA: Kansas runs RESEA and a state program called My Reemployment Plan, run with the Kansas Department of Commerce. Most claimants must take part in My Reemployment Plan, which matches you with open jobs. If you are sent a job match or contact, you have 14 days to respond. If you are picked for RESEA or reemployment services and don't report, your claims can be denied.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you are not actively looking for work, you are not eligible for benefits for that week. Benefits paid for weeks you did not qualify for must be paid back.

Sign up with the job bank

Claimants picked for reemployment services must register for work and report to a workforce center. Kansas's job bank is KANSASWORKS. KANSASWORKS.

Questions people in Kansas ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in Kansas?

You must do at least 3 work search activities each week, and at least 1 of them must be a job application or resume sent to an employer that KDOL can check. You enter them in the Work Search Journal in the KDOL Claimant Portal before you file your weekly certification.

What counts as a work search in Kansas?

Applying for a job online, in person or by mail; Sending a resume to an employer that takes resumes; Visiting employers who may have openings; A job interview, in person or by phone, and 5 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 Kansas?

Enter each activity in the Work Search Journal in the KDOL Claimant Portal. The portal will not let you submit your weekly certification until you have entered at least 3, with at least 1 application or resume. Each activity must fall inside the week you are filing for. Keep your own record too, in case KDOL asks.

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

If you are not actively looking for work, you are not eligible for benefits for that week. Benefits paid for weeks you did not qualify for must be paid back.

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

You are in approved training, including Trade Act training. The governor has declared a disaster emergency and the work search rule is waived. You are on temporary unemployment as Kansas law defines it, a placement union member in good standing, in the Shared Work program, or in RESEA (these groups are left out of the My Reemployment Plan program; check your notice for work search). Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does Kansas check or audit work search records?

KDOL can ask for your work search record. A 2024 law also lets employers report people who skip interviews or don't follow work search rules, starting no earlier than January 1, 2026.

Checked against KDOL’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm when the search starts, the list of what counts, who doesn’t have to search, which days make up the week, which day the week starts, how long to keep your records, the official log form, how reviews and audits work, what happens if you miss your number, the job bank sign-up rule, the payment website link on an official page, so check your notice for those.

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.