Trump administration proposes stricter work-search rules for unemployment benefits

The Labor Department proposed a rule on Monday that would raise the bar for people applying for unemployment insurance by requiring them to prove they've conducted five work-search activities per week in order to qualify for benefits. In the announcement, the Trump administration described the proposal as a way to improve the "integrity and accountability" of the joint federal-state unemployment insurance system. Consumer advocates said the proposed work-search baseline of five qualifying activities per week exceeded that in most states and would make it more difficult for many applicants to qualify for assistance. There is currently no uniform requirement across the U.S. for unemployment insurance claimants regarding work-search requirements. Federal law requires all states to have a work-search requirement, but states have broad discretion to set their own eligibility. They also have ample leeway to set other parameters such as the weekly sum claimants can receive and the number of weeks they can get those funds. A qualifying work search activity might be applying to a job, creating a profile on a job-search website or attending a networking event, for example, depending on the state. Currently, only four states require a minimum of five work searches per week, Michele Evermore, the senior director of economic security and worker transitions at the National Employment Law Project, wrote in an email. The remaining states require fewer activities, she said. The Labor Department proposal would require individuals claiming unemployment insurance to complete and report at least five qualifying work-search activities each week before payment is issued, according to a press release announcing the rule. "This proposed rule helps jobseekers find work faster and ensures efficient use of taxpayer resources while improving the overall integrity of our unemployment system," Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said in the release. There's a 60-day public comment period on the proposal. "Unemployment insurance is meant to be temporary support while you find your next job, not a permanent taxpayer-funded paycheck," Sonderling wrote Monday on X. Jobless workers generally aren't eligible for unemployment insurance for more than six months in almost all states. The Trump administration proposal amounts to a dramatic change to the unemployment safety net and would make it tougher for unemployment claimants to keep their benefits and increase costs for states, Evermore said. "Not only is the proposed change devastating to claimants who may not have five search options for every week they are unemployed, but it will likely cost states hundreds of thousands of dollars," Evermore said in an e-mail. "Nearly all states will have to change their claimant intake forms, and with it, their technology — a costly fix. Many states will have to rewrite their laws to meet this rule." She also said it is "highly unusual for the Department of Labor to unilaterally change how states run their [unemployment insurance] systems absent clear direction from Congress. The Labor Department rule "strongly encourages" states to allow for "a wide variety of work search activities" to satisfy the requirement, Evermore wrote. The rule comes in a job market that labor economists have called "low hire, low fire," in which it's difficult for job seekers to find a new gig amid a low national hiring rate and a historically low layoff rate. Altogether, there's lower churn in the job market, contributing to fewer opportunities for job seekers, economists said. The share of workers who are long-term unemployed — meaning they've been out of work for more than six months — has climbed. About 27.6% of all unemployed workers were considered long-term unemployed as of October, up from 20.5% three years earlier.