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

What counts as a work search in Mississippi

• Filling out a job application with an employer, in person, online, by fax, or the way the employer asks
• Mailing or emailing an application or resume as a job notice tells you to (a resume counts as an application if that is how the employer takes them)
• Visiting an employer in person who may have openings
• Interviewing with an employer in person, by phone, or another way the employer uses
• Going to a job fair and giving an application or resume to employers there
• Self-referring to job openings in the MDES online employment system (Mississippi Works)
• Getting staff-assisted job referrals at a WIN Job Center and contacting those employers

What doesn’t count

• Searching for part-time work only (you must seek full-time work, 35+ hours, unless your notice says otherwise)
• Reporting the same employer contact again within 3 weeks, unless it is a next step in the same hiring process

Same employer twice? You cannot report the same employer contact again until 3 weeks after you first reported it, unless it is part of a progressive hiring process (like a second interview).

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

How to report your job contacts

When you file your weekly certification online, you first answer a work search questionnaire and then enter each employer contact: what you did, how, the date, the company, and the contact person's name and phone (or address, email, fax, or web address). MDES may check your contacts with the employer. Entering wrong information can get that week denied.

When: File as soon as you can after the week ends on Saturday. The system only accepts the most recently completed week, so file before the next Saturday ends.

Where: MDES UI Online System (My MDES).

When the search starts: Each week you file a weekly certification. The first week is an unpaid waiting week.

Keep a work search log

Mississippi rules say you must keep and provide a record of your work search. No time limit was found, so keep it at least through your benefit year. MDES 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 job attached (MDES decides this, for example a set return-to-work date)
• You are on jury duty
• You are in approved training
• You are in an approved Self-Employment Assistance program
• You are a union member in good standing who uses your union's hiring hall
• Other special situations MDES approves

Union members: If you are a member in good standing of a union with a nondiscriminatory hiring hall, and you keep in touch with and use the hiring hall, MDES can waive the work search.

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

Reviews, audits and RESEA

All work search information can be checked with the employer. You will also be called in from time to time to a WIN Job Center to review your eligibility and your job search.

RESEA: While you file weekly claims, you will be scheduled from time to time for reemployment services appointments at your local WIN Job Center. Missing one can delay or deny your benefits.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you do not meet the work search rules, you are disqualified for that week. MDES can give tougher penalties to people who break the rules again and again. Failing to look for, apply for, or accept suitable work leads to a denial of benefits.

Sign up with the job bank

Register for work with MDES Employment Services (Mississippi Works) at a WIN Job Center unless you are scheduled to return to work within 30 days. If you live outside Mississippi, register with your own state's workforce agency within 9 days of filing. Mississippi Works.

Questions people in Mississippi ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in Mississippi?

You must contact at least 3 employers each week about full-time work (35 hours or more). At least 1 of the 3 must include a completed job application or resume. You enter all 3 when you file your weekly certification.

What counts as a work search in Mississippi?

Filling out a job application with an employer, in person, online, by fax, or the way the employer asks; Mailing or emailing an application or resume as a job notice tells you to (a resume counts as an application if that is how the employer takes them); Visiting an employer in person who may have openings; Interviewing with an employer in person, by phone, or another way the employer uses, and 3 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 Mississippi?

When you file your weekly certification online, you first answer a work search questionnaire and then enter each employer contact: what you did, how, the date, the company, and the contact person's name and phone (or address, email, fax, or web address). MDES may check your contacts with the employer. Entering wrong information can get that week denied. Mississippi rules say you must keep and provide a record of your work search. No time limit was found, so keep it at least through your benefit year.

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

If you do not meet the work search rules, you are disqualified for that week. MDES can give tougher penalties to people who break the rules again and again. Failing to look for, apply for, or accept suitable work leads to a denial of benefits.

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

You are job attached (MDES decides this, for example a set return-to-work date). You are on jury duty. You are in approved training. Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does Mississippi check or audit work search records?

All work search information can be checked with the employer. You will also be called in from time to time to a WIN Job Center to review your eligibility and your job search.

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

Sources

• MDES - Worksearch Requirements
• MDES - Benefit Rights Summary Statement
• Miss. Admin. Code 20-101-300-305.02 Work Search not official
• MDES - UI Claimant Handbook

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.