West Virginia Unemployment

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Work Search Requirements

West Virginia Work Registration Program

WorkForce West Virginia provides services to the entire state to match employers to people looking for job opportunities. The various offerings include a forum to post jobs as well as continuing education, assistance with creating a resume, and career counseling.

Unemployed? We want to help.

You are required to register for work through the WorkForce West Virginia Center by your sixth week of unemployment to avoid benefits being denied. To continue receiving your benefits, you must always be searching for employment and keep a record of the contacts made weekly. Bear in mind that you cannot put unreasonable expectations like a higher pay bracket than the average worker in your field requests or even limit your shift availability. Depending on your occupation, you will be provided some contacts that you are required to make weekly.

What You Need for Work Registration

West Virginia does not have any mandatory work registration requirements on a website or in person at a local office. However, might be selected at random and asked to provide the record of all the contacts that you have made while searching for employment. If this file can’t be provided, not only will future benefits be denied, but you can also be asked to pay back anything previously collected. If you continue to be unemployed, the resources in your local Workforce Center can help provide direction on alternative professions and creative methods for finding work.

If you are a union member, you are not required to be involved with WorkForce activities as long as you are available to work when called upon. You also have to be in good standing with the union and working with the business agent. Also, the Workforce Center may place certain unemployed individuals in training programs or to serve on jury duty if it is unlikely that they will be successful in finding employment at that particular time. Examples of this would be because of unfavorable weather conditions or the result of a natural disaster that suspends work for certain industries for an unknown period. If that were to occur, they too are not required to make a set number of contacts weekly.