WorkForce West Virginia requires only 2 documented work search contacts per week — the minimum required to maintain WV Unemployment benefits at workforcewv.org/unemployment. West Virginia's 2-contact requirement is among the lowest nationally, reflecting the labor market realities in counties affected by coal and natural gas industry decline. Log each contact in WV Unemployment before your weekly certification: employer or organization name, position or service sought, date, contact method, and outcome. WorkForce WV career centers across the state provide referrals, job listings, and TAA retraining connections that satisfy work search requirements.
- Only 2 contacts required per week — log both in WV Unemployment before certifying.
- WorkForce WV career centers provide referrals and retraining connections that count as valid contacts.
- TAA-enrolled workers typically receive work search waivers — confirm with WorkForce WV.
Always verify exact numbers, deadlines, and forms on WorkForce West Virginia's official website – this page provides general guidance, not state-specific legal advice.
Valid Work Search Activities in West Virginia
WorkForce West Virginia accepts: job applications to specific employers for specific positions (online, in-person, or phone), job interviews, staffing agency registrations and follow-ups, WorkForce WV career center visits with documented referrals, and professional development activities when specifically approved. For each contact: employer name and location, position applied for, date, method, and result. West Virginia's 2-contact requirement is the floor — making more contacts accelerates your job search and protects you during audits if one of your two contacts is challenged.
Frequently Asked Questions
- I'm a displaced coal miner in McDowell County, WV. There are very few local jobs. How do I make even 2 meaningful work search contacts per week?
- Online job applications to remote positions, out-of-state employers, and larger regional employers count toward West Virginia's 2-contact requirement. You are not restricted to McDowell County or southern West Virginia job postings. WorkForce WV career centers in the region have connections to employers outside the coal belt — healthcare, warehousing, transportation, and construction employers in the Beckley/Oak Hill area or cross-border Virginia and Kentucky. TAA retraining programs provide an alternative path: if your mine is covered by a TAA certification, enrolling in approved retraining typically waives the work search requirement during training. Two contacts per week is very achievable even in limited local markets when you expand to online applications and out-of-state employers.
- I was called to a mandatory WorkForce WV reemployment orientation while collecting benefits. Do I still need my 2 contacts that week?
- Attending a mandatory WorkForce WV orientation or workshop counts as one of your 2 work search contacts for that week — you still need one additional contact. Confirm this with WorkForce West Virginia when you attend the orientation. Mandatory reemployment activities are required as a condition of continued WV Unemployment eligibility — missing the orientation without advance notice to WorkForce WV can result in disqualification. The activities provide practical reemployment assistance while satisfying part of your weekly contact requirement. WorkForce WV notifies you through WV Unemployment when you are required to participate in reemployment services.
- My coal mine is temporarily idled. I have a definite recall date in 8 weeks. Does WV still require 2 contacts per week?
- WorkForce West Virginia may grant a work search waiver for claimants with a documented definite recall date. Provide written evidence of the recall commitment from your employer — a specific date, not just an expectation. Contact WorkForce West Virginia and submit the documentation through WV Unemployment or directly to your WorkForce WV office. If the waiver is approved, you're exempt from the 2-contact requirement during the waiver period but must still certify weekly. If the recall date changes to indefinite, notify WorkForce West Virginia immediately — your waiver status changes when the recall certainty changes.
- I've been job searching in WV and out of state for 18 weeks. WorkForce WV is now referring me to jobs outside my trade. Do I have to consider them?
- West Virginia's suitable work standard shifts over time — as your unemployment extends, WorkForce WV may determine that you must consider positions outside your prior trade at potentially lower wages. This is consistent with federal UI law that allows states to gradually expand the definition of suitable work as unemployment duration increases. WorkForce WV typically makes these referrals through WV Unemployment or at career center visits. Outright refusal to pursue a suitable referral without a documented reason can result in disqualification for refusing suitable work. If the referred position is genuinely unsuitable — unsafe, pays dramatically below local market wages, or requires skills you don't have — explain that to WorkForce WV with documentation. For coal miners, WorkForce WV has industry-specific retraining pathways that are preferable to forcing immediate acceptance of unrelated positions.
- I made my 2 work search contacts but one was with a company that I later found out had no openings. Does that still count?
- Contacting an employer about a position that you believed was available, only to find no opening exists, generally still counts as a valid work search contact in West Virginia — the important thing is the genuine attempt to contact a real employer about possible employment, not the outcome. Log the contact in WV Unemployment with the employer name, position, date, method, and outcome ("no current openings"). One contact with "no openings" still counts. Where work search contacts are rejected in audits is when they are with employers that clearly have no connection to your skills (an autoworker applying to a dental office with no positions) or when the "contact" is just checking a website without an actual application or inquiry to a specific employer.