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

Different numbers for some people

• Temporary layoff, back to work within 4 weeks: 0 a week. If you expect to return to full-time work (or work paying at least your weekly benefit amount) with your employer within 4 weeks, you keep in touch with your employer instead of searching.
• Closed union member in good standing: 0 a week. Stay in contact with your union and be ready to be dispatched, instead of the 5 activities.
• Training Unemployment Insurance (TUI): 0 a week. Once approved for TUI and in school full time, you do not have to look for work.
• Written work-search advisory. If OED gives you a written work-search advisory, you must follow it.

What counts as a work search in Oregon

• Applying for a job that fits your skills, the way the employer asks (direct contact)
• Asking an employer about work in person, by phone, by mail or online (direct contact)
• Interviewing for a job
• Reporting to a union hiring hall, if you are a member
• Taking part in reemployment services at a WorkSource Oregon center
• Going to job placement meetings, workshops or a job club
• Networking
• Updating your resume
• Reviewing job websites or job listings (counts as an activity, not a direct contact)

What doesn’t count

• Applying for a job you are not qualified for
• Not applying the way the employer wants (for example, mailing a paper application when they asked for online)
• Talking to friends or family about jobs you might apply for

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

How to report your job contacts

When you file your weekly claim in Frances Online, you list each direct employer contact: employer name, job title, location, date, how you contacted them and the result. Then you list your other activities with the date and a short description. If you file by phone, you say the same details out loud. Keep your own record too.

When: File each week starting Sunday, for the week that just ended. You must finish by midnight the next Saturday or it is late.

Where: Frances Online.

When the search starts: From your first weekly claim (the waiting week), filed the Sunday after you apply.

Keep a work search log

OED’s form is the Record of Weekly Work Seeking Activities (Form 2554). It asks for: direct contacts: date, company name, location, contact method, type of work sought, results, additional work seeking activities: date, activity.

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

Who doesn’t have to search

• You are temporarily laid off and will be back at full-time work (or work paying at least your weekly benefit amount) within 4 weeks; you must keep in contact with your employer
• You are a closed-union member in good standing; you must stay in contact with your union and be available for dispatch
• You are approved for Training Unemployment Insurance (TUI) and attending school full time
• You are in another special program OED approved (you will not see the work search screen)

Union members: If you are a member in good standing of a closed union, you stay in contact with your union and must be ready to work when dispatched. You do not do the regular 5 activities.

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

Reviews, audits and RESEA

OED may ask for more details about your work search at any time. It may call the businesses you listed to check your contacts. Fraud audits include verifying job search contacts.

RESEA: You may be called to a Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) interview. Not taking part stops your claim until OED decides your case.

What to expect: unemployment work search audits.

If you miss your number

If you do not do the required activities, answer No to the work search question; that week can be denied. If you leave work search details off your weekly claim, your benefits stop and you may owe money back. Fraud penalties include repaying benefits, a 15% to 30% penalty, and losing benefits for up to 52 weeks.

Sign up with the job bank

Register in iMatchSkills (or your state's job system if you live outside Oregon) within 14 days of filing, and attend an orientation with WorkSource Oregon staff. iMatchSkills / WorkSource Oregon.

Questions people in Oregon ask

How many job searches are required for unemployment in Oregon?

Most people must do at least 5 work search activities each week. At least 2 of the 5 must be direct contacts with employers, like applying for a job the way the employer asks. You list all of them on your weekly claim. Some people have a different number: Temporary layoff, back to work within 4 weeks (0); Closed union member in good standing (0); Training Unemployment Insurance (TUI) (0); Written work-search advisory.

What counts as a work search in Oregon?

Applying for a job that fits your skills, the way the employer asks (direct contact); Asking an employer about work in person, by phone, by mail or online (direct contact); Interviewing for a job; Reporting to a union hiring hall, if you are a member, 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 Oregon?

When you file your weekly claim in Frances Online, you list each direct employer contact: employer name, job title, location, date, how you contacted them and the result. Then you list your other activities with the date and a short description. If you file by phone, you say the same details out loud. Keep your own record too.

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

If you do not do the required activities, answer No to the work search question; that week can be denied. If you leave work search details off your weekly claim, your benefits stop and you may owe money back. Fraud penalties include repaying benefits, a 15% to 30% penalty, and losing benefits for up to 52 weeks.

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

You are temporarily laid off and will be back at full-time work (or work paying at least your weekly benefit amount) within 4 weeks; you must keep in contact with your employer. You are a closed-union member in good standing; you must stay in contact with your union and be available for dispatch. You are approved for Training Unemployment Insurance (TUI) and attending school full time. Your notice will say if this applies to you.

Does Oregon check or audit work search records?

OED may ask for more details about your work search at any time. It may call the businesses you listed to check your contacts. Fraud audits include verifying job search contacts.

Checked against OED’s own pages and rules on November 6, 2026. We could not confirm how long to keep your records, the recent change, when the search starts on an official page, so check your notice for those.

Sources

• OED Weekly Claims
• OED: How to file a weekly claim (Frances Online)
• OED Unemployment Insurance Claimant Handbook UIPUB350 (03/2026)
• Form 2554 Record of Weekly Work Seeking Activities
• OAR 471-030-0036 (unofficial copy of the rule) not official
• OED press release Feb 14, 2024: What's changing for UI claimants

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.