By Jacqueline Pitts
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the requirement that an individual must be searching for work in order to receive unemployment benefits was temporarily turned off. But now, a year later, it will be reinstated as Kentuckians are being vaccinated and the state looks to get people back to work.
(Graphic from Kentucky Chamber of Commerce)
Starting May 9, individuals seeking benefits will need to report to the state they have made at least one contact per week about a job in order to receive bi-weekly benefits. This is a normal part of the unemployment insurance system outside of the pandemic and many other states are taking the same steps in recent months.
Outside of some exceptions, out-of-work Kentuckians will need to report specific information about where they’ve tried to find full-time work to be considered eligible for benefits including the name of the business, job title, name and title of the person contacted, date of contact, and whether the correspondence was over phone, email, etc.
“The Kentucky Chamber supports turning on the Work Search Requirement. Kentuckians returning to work is a vital step to recovering our economy and ensuring our citizens’ health, well-being, and future prosperity. For Kentuckians entering a job search, the Kentucky Chamber provides a list with over 95,000 positions currently available across the state on the ‘Who’s Hiring’ page of our website,” said Beth Davisson, Kentucky Chamber Vice President of Workforce Development.
Find the Kentucky Chamber’s Who’s Hiring list at www.kychamber.com.
Individuals can find more information on the work search requirements at kcc.ky.gov.
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
