- Connecticut residents receiving unemployment benefits will be required to meet work search requirements starting on May 30
- Requirements were suspended at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health measure
- Reinstated rule says claimants must apply for work with at least one employer per week and complete other efforts to find a job
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Connecticut Department of Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby has announced that a work search requirement for residents receiving state unemployment benefits will resume on May 30.
The requirement was waived at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to scarcer employment opportunities and as a way to prevent the spread of the virus. Westby said reinstating the work search requirement is an appropriate action to help improve Connecticut’s economy now that the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available and unemployment claims have been declining.
- The rule requires claimants to contact at least one employer per week to seek work for which they are reasonably suited, and to maintain documentation of their search efforts
- Claimants must also participate in at least two of a list of other activities, such as attending a job fair, participating in a job interview, or creating a user profile on a professional networking site
- Claimants must keep records of work search activities during June, and must report these activities online while filing their weekly certification beginning in July
- Connecticut’s unemployment rate recently fell to 8.1 percent in April, but has remained above 8 percent since the start of the pandemic
