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

What counts as a work search in Montana

• Filling out a job application with an employer who is hiring
• Sending a resume to an employer who is hiring (online, by mail, email or fax)
• Going to a job interview
• Signing up with a temp agency (counts for only one week in your claim year)
• Applying to the same employer you used last week, but for a different job

What doesn’t count

• Looking at job listings online without applying
• Calling an employer to ask if they are hiring, without sending an application or resume
• Checking back with a temp agency for more work
• Using your current part-time employer as your contact every week
• Looking for self-employment or working as an independent contractor
• Registering with Job Service Montana or the state's workforce program
• Applying to the same employer two weeks in a row for the same job, unless the employer asked you to

Same employer twice? You cannot use the same employer two weeks in a row, unless the employer asked you to or you are applying for a different job.

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

How to report your job contacts

When you request payment, you type in your work search contact for that week: the business name, the person you contacted, the date, the job, the business phone number, the website if you applied online, and the result. If this is missing or incomplete, you will be denied for that week. Also keep your own detailed record and copies of confirmations in case you are audited.

When: Request payment online each week at uiclaimant.mt.gov. You can file from Sunday through Saturday of the week after the week you are claiming.

Where: UI Claimant Portal.

When the search starts: Week 1. Your first eligible week is an unpaid waiting week, but you still file a payment request and must meet all rules, including work search, for that week.

Keep a work search log

Keep your work search records and copies of applications, confirmations and emails for 3 years. DLI’s form is the Work Search Record. It asks for: date applied (mm/dd/yyyy), business name, address, phone, email or website address, name & title of person contacted, position applied for, method used to apply (in person, phone/fax, mail, email, website), results (hired, pending, not hiring), email or website confirmation number.

The free myjobcontacts app keeps the same details and prints them in the same columns as DLI’s form. Prefer paper? Use the free printable work search log.

Who doesn’t have to search

• You are in training approved by the Department of Labor & Industry (your decision letter will explain your rules). If training ends or you have more than 30 days between sessions, you must search again.
• You are job attached: you have a return-to-work or start date at 30 or more hours a week, and UI has verified it
• You are union attached: your dues are current, you get work through a union hiring hall, and you are on the out-of-work list, and UI has verified it

Union members: If you are union attached (dues current, on the hiring hall's out-of-work list), you may not need to apply for jobs once UI verifies your status. Stay in contact with your hall. Check your claim record at uiclaimant.mt.gov to see your status.

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

Reviews, audits and RESEA

UI can audit your claim at any time during your claim year. The state may check your applications with the employers. If asked, you must show records of your work search contacts.

RESEA: If you are not job attached, union attached or in approved training, you may be picked for a virtual RESEA appointment with Job Service Montana. You will get notice by mail, email and in your claimant portal. Bring your resume and your work search records. Missing this required appointment will affect your benefits.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you don't enter your work search, or it is incomplete, you will be denied benefits for that week. If you can't show your records in an audit, you may lose benefits. Saying you applied when you did not is fraud.

Sign up with the job bank

The December 2025 claimant handbook says you do not need to register at a Job Service Montana office. The older work search web page still tells you to register and stay active on MontanaWorks.gov and check in every 90 days. If you live outside Montana, you must register with the job service in your state. Check your notice. MontanaWorks.

Questions people in Montana ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in Montana?

You must apply for at least one job each week you request payment. That means filling out a job application, sending a resume, or going to a job interview with an employer who is hiring.

What counts as a work search in Montana?

Filling out a job application with an employer who is hiring; Sending a resume to an employer who is hiring (online, by mail, email or fax); Going to a job interview; Signing up with a temp agency (counts for only one week in your claim year), and 1 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 Montana?

When you request payment, you type in your work search contact for that week: the business name, the person you contacted, the date, the job, the business phone number, the website if you applied online, and the result. If this is missing or incomplete, you will be denied for that week. Also keep your own detailed record and copies of confirmations in case you are audited. Keep your work search records and copies of applications, confirmations and emails for 3 years.

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

If you don't enter your work search, or it is incomplete, you will be denied benefits for that week. If you can't show your records in an audit, you may lose benefits. Saying you applied when you did not is fraud.

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

You are in training approved by the Department of Labor & Industry (your decision letter will explain your rules). If training ends or you have more than 30 days between sessions, you must search again.. You are job attached: you have a return-to-work or start date at 30 or more hours a week, and UI has verified it. You are union attached: your dues are current, you get work through a union hiring hall, and you are on the out-of-work list, and UI has verified it. Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does Montana check or audit work search records?

UI can audit your claim at any time during your claim year. The state may check your applications with the employers. If asked, you must show records of your work search contacts.

Checked against DLI’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm the job bank sign-up rule on an official page, so check your notice for that.

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.