myjobcontacts › States › Ohio
How many job searches do you need for unemployment in Ohio?
Short answer: Most people must do at least 2 work search activities each week. Applying for a job, sending a resume to an employer, a job interview or a job fair all count. You give details of your activities each time you file your weekly claim.
Each week
2 work search activities
The week
Sunday through Saturday
Request payment
File each week after it ends, as early as Sunday for the week before.
Official log form
Keep records
Keep your work search records for at least 18 months.
Special cases
- Your notice says something different. Your New Claim Instruction Sheet lists your weekly minimum. Ohio may later send a Notice of Change in Work Search Requirements. Follow the latest notice.
What counts as a work search in Ohio
- Applying for a job that fits your skills, online or in person
- Sending your resume to an employer
- Interviewing for a job
- Going to a job fair
- Reporting to a union hiring hall, if you are a member
- Doing assigned RESEA activities or reemployment services at an OhioMeansJobs center
- Creating or updating your resume or reemployment plan on OhioMeansJobs.com
- Completing the OhioMeansJobs.com Career Profile
- Making a profile on a professional networking site like LinkedIn
- Going to a training
What doesn’t count
- Calling or stopping by to ask if a business is hiring
- Looking at job openings without applying
- Applying for a job you are not qualified for
- Not following the employer's way to apply (for example, not applying online when told to)
More on this in what counts as a work search contact.
How to report your job contacts
When you file your weekly claim, you answer questions about your work search and give details of your activities. If you leave them out, your payment can be denied or delayed. Also keep your own log each week, with proof like email confirmations, in case Ohio checks.
When: File each week after it ends, as early as Sunday for the week before. You have up to 21 days after the week ends.
Where: Ohio Job Insurance (OJI) system at unemployment.ohio.gov.
When the search starts: Every week you file a weekly claim. Check your New Claim Instruction Sheet for your exact requirements.
Keep a work search log
Keep your work search records for at least 18 months. ODJFS’s form is the Work-Search Log for Job Seekers (JFS 20130).
The free myjobcontacts app keeps the same details. Prefer paper? Use the free printable work search log.
Who doesn’t have to search
- Your employer told ODJFS your layoff is temporary and you will go back within 45 days
- Your employer's plant shutdown has a set return date within 26 weeks and ODJFS approved a waiver
- You are in agency-approved training (waived)
- You are in approved school and going to all classes (counts as met)
- You are a member in good standing of a union hiring hall that refers members to jobs (counts as met)
Union members: If you are a member in good standing of a union hiring hall that refers members to jobs, your work search counts as met.
See work search exemptions for how these work in other states.
Reviews, audits and RESEA
ODJFS audits claims. It may contact employers you list to check that you applied. If you cannot show proof of your work search, you may lose benefits.
RESEA: You may be picked for RESEA. You get a letter listing OhioMeansJobs.com tasks and deadlines, and you may need to meet one-on-one with a specialist. If you do not take part, benefits can stop until you finish. Assigned RESEA activities count as work search.
What to expect: unemployment work search audits.
If you miss your number
If you do not do 2 activities in a week, you can be denied pay for that week. You can still file later weeks. If you miss the OhioMeansJobs resume (week 4) or Career Profile (week 8) deadlines, benefits stop until you do them. Saying you looked for work when you did not is fraud: repay everything plus a 25% penalty and interest, and lose 2 future weeks for each week of fraud.
Sign up with the job bank
Ohio signs you up on OhioMeansJobs.com when you apply. You must post a complete, searchable resume by week 4 and finish the Career Profile survey by week 8. Keep your resume active. OhioMeansJobs.com.
Keep every job contact in one place
myjobcontacts is a free work search log. Pick your state and it shows how many contacts you still need this week, reminds you before you request payment, and prints a clean log if ODJFS ever asks for it. No sign-up. Your list stays on your phone.
Start my free logQuestions people in Ohio ask
How many job searches are required for unemployment in Ohio?
Most people must do at least 2 work search activities each week. Applying for a job, sending a resume to an employer, a job interview or a job fair all count. You give details of your activities each time you file your weekly claim. Some people have a different number: Your notice says something different.
What counts as a work search in Ohio?
Applying for a job that fits your skills, online or in person; Sending your resume to an employer; Interviewing for a job; Going to a job fair, and 6 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 Ohio?
When you file your weekly claim, you answer questions about your work search and give details of your activities. If you leave them out, your payment can be denied or delayed. Also keep your own log each week, with proof like email confirmations, in case Ohio checks. Keep your work search records for at least 18 months.
What happens if I don’t do enough job searches in Ohio?
If you do not do 2 activities in a week, you can be denied pay for that week. You can still file later weeks. If you miss the OhioMeansJobs resume (week 4) or Career Profile (week 8) deadlines, benefits stop until you do them. Saying you looked for work when you did not is fraud: repay everything plus a 25% penalty and interest, and lose 2 future weeks for each week of fraud.
Who doesn’t have to look for work in Ohio?
Your employer told ODJFS your layoff is temporary and you will go back within 45 days. Your employer's plant shutdown has a set return date within 26 weeks and ODJFS approved a waiver. You are in agency-approved training (waived). Your notice will say if this applies to you.
Does Ohio check or audit work search records?
ODJFS audits claims. It may contact employers you list to check that you applied. If you cannot show proof of your work search, you may lose benefits.
Checked against ODJFS’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm the official log form, how long to keep your records on an official page, so check your notice for those.
Sources
- ODJFS policy: Active Work Search and OhioMeansJobs.com Reemployment Activities (effective Sep 1, 2025)
- ODJFS policy: Active Search for Work and Reemployment Requirements (Oct 22, 2023)
- ODJFS Online claimant highlights
- OhioMeansJobs: Unemployment Claimants
- Worker's Guide to Unemployment Insurance, JFS 55213 (Sep 2024), copy hosted by Seneca County DJFS
- Ohio Revised Code 4141.29
- Ohio LSC: Unemployment eligibility and benefits
- Older Worker's Guide (about 2020), county-hosted copy
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.