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How many job searches do you need for unemployment in New York?

Special cases

• Approved Work Search Plan. If NYSDOL approved a Work Search Plan for you, you must do what the plan says and record those activities.

What counts as a work search in New York

• Sending job applications or resumes to employers, including former employers, who may have openings
• Interviewing with an employer
• Using Career Center or virtual career center services: meeting an advisor, skills assessments, workshops, job referrals
• Going to job search seminars, networking meetings, job fairs or job-skills workshops
• Registering for or taking job tests or civil service exams
• Registering and following up with staffing agencies, placement services, unions, school placement offices or professional groups
• Using the phone, internet, social media or job-matching sites to find leads, get referrals or set up interviews
• Working part-time (counts as one activity)
• Any other reasonable activity that may help you get a job

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

How to report your job contacts

When you certify each week, you report your work search activities. You can add them to your online account any time during the week. Also keep a Work Search Record for each week, on the WS5 form, your own sheet with the same details, or online in JobZone, with proof like printed applications and emails. Do not send it to NYSDOL unless they ask.

When: Certify each week. You can claim a week from the Sunday that ends it through the next Saturday.

Where: NY Unemployment Services (NY.gov account).

When the search starts: The first week you claim benefits.

Keep a work search log

Keep copies of your paper Work Search Records for one year from the start of your claim. Records kept in JobZone are stored online for you. NYSDOL’s form is the Work Search Record (WS5). It asks for: date of contact, position applied for, business/employer name, name and title of person contacted (if known), method of contact (in person, phone, fax, email, web site, etc.), contact information for method of contact (address, telephone number, email, website/url, fax number), result of contact (if known) (interview, waiting for response, not hired), other work search activities: date of activity, other work search activities: activity performed.

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

Who doesn’t have to search

• You are temporarily laid off or seasonally employed and have a written, definite return-to-work date 8 weeks or less away
• You are a union member who must get work through a union hiring hall (follow your union's rules)
• You are in a training program approved by NYSDOL, such as under Labor Law section 599
• You are serving on a jury
• You are in an approved Shared Work Program
• You are in an approved Self Employment Assistance Program
• Any other exemption required by state or federal law. NYSDOL will tell you if you are exempt.

Union members: Union members who must get work through a union hiring hall may be exempt, but must follow the union's membership and work search rules.

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

Reviews, audits and RESEA

NYSDOL regularly checks that claimants do their work search. It may ask for a copy of your Work Search Record and will check the contacts you listed with the employers.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you do not do 3 activities a week, you can lose benefits for that week. Knowingly giving false work search information is fraud and can lead to denial of benefits and severe penalties.

Questions people in New York ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in New York?

You must do at least 3 work search activities each week you claim benefits. Applying for jobs counts, and so do things like job fairs, workshops and Career Center services. If you have a Work Search Plan approved by NYSDOL, follow the plan instead. Some people have a different number: Approved Work Search Plan.

What counts as a work search in New York?

Sending job applications or resumes to employers, including former employers, who may have openings; Interviewing with an employer; Using Career Center or virtual career center services: meeting an advisor, skills assessments, workshops, job referrals; Going to job search seminars, networking meetings, job fairs or job-skills workshops, 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 New York?

When you certify each week, you report your work search activities. You can add them to your online account any time during the week. Also keep a Work Search Record for each week, on the WS5 form, your own sheet with the same details, or online in JobZone, with proof like printed applications and emails. Do not send it to NYSDOL unless they ask. Keep copies of your paper Work Search Records for one year from the start of your claim. Records kept in JobZone are stored online for you.

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

If you do not do 3 activities a week, you can lose benefits for that week. Knowingly giving false work search information is fraud and can lead to denial of benefits and severe penalties.

Who doesn’t have to look for work in New York?

You are temporarily laid off or seasonally employed and have a written, definite return-to-work date 8 weeks or less away. You are a union member who must get work through a union hiring hall (follow your union's rules). You are in a training program approved by NYSDOL, such as under Labor Law section 599. Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does New York check or audit work search records?

NYSDOL regularly checks that claimants do their work search. It may ask for a copy of your Work Search Record and will check the contacts you listed with the employers.

Checked against NYSDOL’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm how you report contacts, the payment website name, how RESEA works, the job bank sign-up rule, when the search starts 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.