Job search rule for unemployment benefits returning in June

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jobless workers collecting unemployment benefits will be required to report looking for work beginning in early June, the Virginia Employment Commission announced Tuesday.

The work search requirement, part of state and federal law, was suspended during the pandemic. The commission announced earlier this month that it would be reinstated, and on Tuesday gave the effective date: the week ending June 5.

“Claimants must search and report two job searches per week,” commission spokeswoman Joyce Fogg wrote in an email.

The requirement will also apply to people who get Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

Virginia Employment Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess said earlier this month that the requirement is coming back as demand for workers rises and as vaccines become more widely available.