Ohio Unemployment Work Search Requirements

The Basic Rule: Two Activities Per Week

Most claimants who are required to search for work must complete at least two acceptable work-search activities each week. ODJFS asks about this on your weekly certification — answering "no" can suspend your benefits.

You also need to register an account on OhioMeansJobs.com, post an active resume, and complete the Career Profile survey. This isn't optional — it's a separate requirement on top of the two weekly activities.

What Counts as an Approved Activity

ODJFS divides approved activities into two broad categories:

Active work applications — submitting a resume through an online job portal, completing a formal job application (online or in person), or participating in an interview (in person or virtual).

Reemployment activities — attending a job fair or recruitment event, going to a career workshop at an OhioMeansJobs Center, or completing a skill assessment or career planning tool.

What Doesn't Count

Casual conversations with friends or family about work, browsing job boards without submitting an application, viewing listings but not applying, updating social media without any outreach to employers, applying for jobs you're completely unqualified for, or repeatedly contacting an employer that isn't hiring.

The line is simple: you have to take a concrete action directed at getting a job, and you have to be able to document it.

How to Log Your Activities

Record each activity on ODJFS Form JFS 20130 (Work-Search Log for Job Seekers) or an equivalent worksheet. For each entry you need:

• Date of the activity
• Employer or organization name
• Address or website
• Position title you applied for
• Specific action you took (applied, interviewed, attended)
• Result (callback, no response, interview scheduled)

Keep your work search logs for 18 months. ODJFS can audit your records during that window, and missing or incomplete logs get treated the same as not searching — your benefits stop until you fix the problem.

Fabricating contacts or padding entries is fraud. ODJFS takes this seriously, and the penalty for fraud includes repayment, a 25% surcharge on the overpaid amount, and benefit ineligibility.

Exemptions from the Work Search Requirement

A few categories of claimants are excused from the standard two-activity requirement:

• Union members in good standing with a labor organization that refers people to jobs meet the requirement if they provide documentation, on request and as prescribed by the director, that they are eligible for referral or placement.
• Claimants in approved training meet the requirement if the director approved and recommended the course, and the claimant attends regularly and makes satisfactory progress.
• Temporary layoffs — if your employer notifies ODJFS within 10 days of the layoff that work is expected to resume within 45 calendar days, the director may waive the active search requirement.

If none of these apply, the two-activity requirement is active every week you certify.

RESEA: Mandatory Reemployment Sessions

ODJFS may also select you for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program. If selected, you'll receive a notice requiring you to attend an orientation session — in person at an OhioMeansJobs Center or virtually. These sessions include a one-on-one review of your work search log, labor market orientation, and reemployment planning. Without justifiable cause, missing a required session makes you ineligible only for the week or weeks in which you were scheduled and failed to participate.

Track It From Day One

Our Ohio Unemployment Claim Guide includes a work search log template and weekly tracking worksheet that covers everything ODJFS requires — so you're audit-ready before your first certification.

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