BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson on Wednesday announced that the work search requirement will be reinstated for all federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) unemployment insurance claimants this Sunday, July 18.

The work search requirement was already reinstated for regular state unemployment insurance claimants on Sunday, July 4.

“As of July 18, all unemployment insurance claimants will be required to register with the Maryland Workforce Exchange and actively search for work in order to maintain their eligibility for benefits,” said Secretary Robinson. “With over 250,000 job postings available during the month of May alone, the Maryland Workforce Exchange is a powerful employment tool that can not only connect Maryland’s claimants with jobs, but meaningful carueers.”

To complete the work search requirement, unemployment insurance claimants must first register for an account with the state’s job portal, the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE). The MWE is an online job and career services system that provides jobseekers with employment resources and access to job openings while simultaneously helping employers connect with qualified candidates.

As businesses have reopened and the economy has rebounded, Maryland has seen a tremendous increase in job postings. Over the past six months, the MWE has averaged 218,120 online job postings each month, aggregated from a variety of online sources. This is the second highest average job postings since the MWE started tracking in 2008. There were 250,925 job postings in May, which is the most job postings of any month in the past 5 years. The job postings on the MWE do not include job postings that use other means of advertising such as word of mouth, physical signs, or social media.

The MWE’s advanced résumé and job posting features simplify the process of connecting jobseekers with employment opportunities. MWE users can search for jobs by location or keyword and instantly submit an application. Users can also filter job search results by occupation, expand a job listing to review details, and map a company’s location. The MWE Virtual Recruiter feature automatically alerts jobseekers when new openings that meet their search criteria are posted.

Users seeking individualized assistance can also find contact information for the nearest American Job Centers. The MWE offers a variety of other valuable resources including an industry-leading résumé builder, real-time labor market information, educational and occupational training programs, and free online learning resources from multiple nationally recognized providers. The MWE can be accessed through an internet browser or the mobile app, which is available for download in the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.

Once a claimant has registered with the MWE, they must actively search for work by completing at least three valid reemployment activities each week, including at least one job contact. Claimants can choose from 30 qualifying valid reemployment activities, 18 self-assisted activities and 12 staff-assisted activities, that can be used to satisfy the weekly active search for work requirement. These three activities must be submitted and saved in the Job Contact and Reemployment Activity Log in the MWE to satisfy the work search requirement and be eligible for benefits. Failure to satisfy these requirements may result in a delay or denial of a claimant’s benefits.

To learn more about the reinstatement of the work search requirement, visit the Division of Unemployment Insurance’s website at labor.maryland.gov/employment/uirex.shtml.