The weekly work search rule in Washington
3 approved job search activities each week you claim, and keep a written job search log. If ESD found you left work as a survivor of domestic violence or stalking, you need only 1 approved activity each week.
Keep a written job search log, on ESD's log form or your own with the same information. ESD may ask to see it in a job search review at any time, even after you stop claiming.
File and certify on the Washington Employment Security Department site. The rules can change, so check ESD's work search page if a letter from them says something different.
| Washington rule | |
|---|---|
| Each week | 3 approved job search activities each week you claim, and keep a written job search log. If ESD found you left work as a survivor of domestic violence or stalking, you need only 1 approved activity each week. |
| How you report it | Keep a written job search log, on ESD's log form or your own with the same information. ESD may ask to see it in a job search review at any time, even after you stop claiming. |
| Enter each activity online | No, you keep your own record |
| Keep records | Keep your job search records for at least 30 days after your benefit year ends or 30 days after you stop getting benefits, whichever is later. |
| Agency | Washington Employment Security Department |
Source: Washington Employment Security Department (esd.wa.gov), checked 2026-10-20.
What counts as a work search activity in Washington
Washington Employment Security Department lists these:
- Contacting or applying with an employer (email, online, mail, phone, in person, virtual meeting, kiosk or fax)
- WorkSource activities, such as setting up an account, uploading a resume, workshops and RESEA appointments
- Job fairs and hiring events where you contact at least one employer, and job clubs
- Setting up or updating an account on a job search website and searching openings
- Interest inventories and ACT WorkKeys assessments
- Job search videos, certificate courses and labor market research
- Instructor-led or self-paced classes such as ESL, ABE, GED or computer courses
- Setting up or keeping active app-based driving or delivery work accounts
- Signing up with a career coach, placement agency or recruiter
- WIOA Title I-B programs and vocational rehabilitation activities
Who does not have to search for work in Washington
ESD must approve an exception and tell you in writing. You may qualify if you are approved for partial unemployment, SharedWork, standby during a temporary layoff, the Self-Employment Assistance Program, or approved training; are an active apprentice in an approved electrical program or in the classroom part of mandatory apprentice training; or are part of a strike, lockout or labor dispute. If you are dispatched through a full-referral union, you do not need to look for work outside your union, but you must stay available for dispatch and follow your union's dispatch rules.
Keep your work search log free
Write down each activity the day you do it: the date, the employer, how you contacted them, the job, and what happened. If the state asks to see your search, the log is your proof.
The free work search log in Capstone Careers keeps it for you: each application you send through Capstone Careers goes on it by itself, you add the ones you do elsewhere, and you can save the week as a PDF.
Need more applications to reach your number? See openings near you and get a resume written for each one.
Training while you are on unemployment in Washington
If you want to train for a new job, WIOA can pay for approved training if you qualify. See how WIOA works in Washington.
Approved training is on ESD's list of exemptions above, so ask ESD before you start.