COVID-19 Resources Job Seekers

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued an unemployment insurance phishing fraud alert.

As Texas continues to reopen, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is reinstating work search requirements for all claimants beginning November 1, 2020. Work search requirements were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As of November 1, 2020, to remain eligible for unemployment benefits claimants are required to: 

• Register on WorkInTexas.com. 
• Search for work according to TWC guidelines and make at least the minimum number of work search activities each week.
• Claimants must complete 1 to 3 work searches per week depending on their county of residence. 
• Take advantage of the reemployment services and resources available virtually at your nearest Workforce Solutions office.
• Keep a work search log and provide TWC with the work search log upon request. If TWC asks for a copy of the work search log, claimants can upload it using our secure, online document submission portal.
• Apply for and accept suitable full-time work.

Claimants must certify they are completing their required number of work searches each week when they request benefit payment. 

For help finding your next job, please visit www.MyTXCareer.com or www.WorkInTexas.com and use the virtual and in person services at local Workforce Solutions offices throughout the state.

For more information see Work Search Requirements for Unemployment Benefits

To apply for benefits online, view your claim and payment status, request a payment, view your electronic correspondence and much more, log on to Unemployment Benefits Services (UBS). UBS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

To apply for benefits by phone or to speak with a TWC customer service representative, call our Tele-Center at 800-939-6631 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

To request benefit payment, change your payment option, hear your claim and payment status and much more, call Tele-Serv, our automated phone system, at 800-558-8321.

Looking for a job? If you need help accessing MyTXCareer.com or WorkInTexas.com or updating your account, contact your local Workforce Solutions office. To find the workforce office nearest you, visit our Workforce Solutions Directory.

If you have questions about unemployment programs or if you need to apply for benefits, review our Unemployment Benefits web pages for general information about unemployment benefits, eligibility, benefit amounts, and how we pay you.

For help in preparing to apply for benefits, review our tutorials on our Unemployment Benefits Services (UBS) web page. There, we have tutorials on how to:

• Create a TWC User ID and password
• Apply for benefits online
• Use electronic correspondence
• Request a benefit payment, and much more.

These web pages and tutorials provide all the information you need to know about what you need to provide during the application process, how the process works, and what happens next.

You can also get answers by reading our Unemployment Benefits Handbook or by connecting with “Larry the Chat Bot” by selecting the Chat With Us link at the bottom of every TWC webpage.

Our unemployment web pages, our handbook, and our tutorials – and even our online apply for benefits program – are also available in Spanish. Look for the “Ver esta página en español” link near the top right of every unemployment webpage. Spanish applicants can apply for benefits online in Spanish at Servicios de Beneficios de Desempleo. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, 2020, included the creation of the following programs to provide unemployment benefits to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

If you are receiving unemployment benefits because you are unemployed or were furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TWC determines your eligibility for one or more of these claim types if they are still available.

If you are self-employed, an independent contractor (1099), or a gig worker, see Self-Employed Texans and the CARES Act for more information on what unemployment benefits you may be eligible for. 

Note: All pandemic programs or additional pay programs have expiration dates. TWC cannot pay claimants benefits under expired programs and cannot extend or modify the expiration dates without action from the U.S. Congress. Program expirations cannot be appealed. 

Continued Assistance Act – CARES Act Extension

On December 27, 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Continued Assistance Act. The Act extends all pandemic unemployment benefits claim programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). 

Once the legislation is enacted, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will work to implement the new legislation as quickly as possible. However, TWC must wait on guidance from the U,S. Department of Labor before the provisions of the Act can be implemented. This may cause you to see a break between unemployment payments. If you have an existing claim, you do not need to take any further action. TWC will automatically update your claim and inform you of your potential eligibility. We will update this page with new information when it becomes available.

Note: TWC cannot take any action prior to the effective date of any new legislation.

• Extended Unemployment Benefits in Texas Larger Version

Regular Unemployment Benefits

Before you can receive unemployment benefits under any pandemic program claim, TWC must first determine whether you are eligible for a regular unemployment benefits claim. To be eligible for a regular claim, you must:

• Be unemployed through no fault of your own. This may include being furloughed or unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Have earned enough wages in your base period (the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you applied for benefits).

For more information see: Unemployment Benefits

Once you exhaust your regular unemployment benefits claim, you may be eligible for one of the pandemic program claims. Note: You do not need to apply for benefits again. TWC will review your claim, determine which program you are eligible for and automatically enroll you in the correct program, if that program is still available.

If you are not eligible for a regular unemployment claim, you may be eligible for a claim under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. See the section below.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)

The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program will be extended for an additional 11 weeks, from 13 weeks up to 24 weeks total. The first week TWC can pay benefits on this extension is the benefit week ending January 2, 2021. The last date TWC can accept any new PEUC claim will be the week of March 7, 2021. The last payable week for most PEUC claims will be benefit week ending (BWE) March 13, 2021. PEUC claimants who have not exhausted benefits by March 13, 2021, may continue to request payments during a phase-out period that ends with BWE April 10, 2021.

The PEUC program provides additional weeks of unemployment benefits to those claimants who have exhausted a regular unemployment claim but whose employment is still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information see: Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)

To be eligible for PEUC, claimants must:

• Have a claim dated on or after July 8, 2018
• Have exhausted their regular unemployment claim by March 7, 2021
• Not be eligible for a regular claim in any other state or Canada
• Have not returned to work since their last claim

Extended Benefits

The Extended Benefits Program (EB) is only available during periods of high state or national unemployment, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. TWC can only pay claimants EB when the 12-week Insured Unemployment Rate (IUR) is 5 percent or more. As of May 31, 2020, Texas’ unemployment rate was 12.8 percent, exceeding the threshold to trigger the extension. Once Texas triggers off the high unemployment rate, TWC will stop paying EB.

Extended Benefits are available to those claimants who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefit claims and their Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) claims. Although Texas triggered on to EB at the end of May, the first week that claimants may receive EB is the week ending on July 4, 2020. EB extends unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks or up to an additional 50 percent of the claimant’s original maximum benefit amount (MBA), whichever is less. Claimants will receive their same weekly benefit amount under EB.

For more information, see Extended Unemployment Benefits in Texas.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program temporarily expands unemployment benefit eligibility to self-employed workers, gig economy workers, part-time workers, and others impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic who might not otherwise be traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program will be extended for an additional 11 weeks, from 39 weeks up to 50 weeks total. The first week TWC can pay benefits on this extension is the benefit week ending January 2, 2021. The last date TWC can accept any new PUA claim will be the week of March 7, 2021. The last payable week for most PUA claims will be benefit week ending (BWE) March 13, 2021. PUA claimants who have not reached the 50-week limit may be eligible to receive benefits during a phase-out period that ends with BWE April 10, 2021. 

PUA benefits may be available for those claimants who: 

• Lost their jobs or self-employment because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Did not earn enough wages in the 18 months before they applied for benefits to qualify for a regular unemployment benefits claim
• Exhausted their regular unemployment, PEUC and EB benefits or did not qualify for these claims

New requirements for PUA claimants

Claimants filing for or moving to a new claim for PUA after January 31, 2021, must provide proof of employment, self-employment, or prospective employment within 21 days of filing the claim. Failure to provide proof may disqualify the individual from receiving PUA. Any claimants currently receiving PUA on or after December 27, 2020, must provide proof of employment, self-employment, or prospective employment within 90 days. Failure to provide proof may disqualify the individual from receiving additional PUA benefits and could impact benefits received in the past.

For more information, see Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

For more information, also see Self-Employed Texans and the CARES Act.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) will provide a $300 weekly payment in addition to any weekly unemployment benefit payment through benefit week ending (BWE) March 13, 2021. The first week TWC can pay this additional payment is the benefit week ending January 2, 2021. TWC cannot pay any FPUC payments for any weeks from July 27 to December 27, 2020, as per federal guidelines. Claimants must be receiving regular unemployment, PEUC, Extended Benefits (EB) or PUA to receive this payment.

During the pandemic, U.S. Department of Labor guidance provides that federal law permits significant flexibility for states to provide Unemployment Insurance (UI) services related to COVID-19. Based on this, TWC waived the waiting week for those claimants affected by COVID-19.

• For more information, see the following: Unemployment Eligibility Scenarios for Job Seekers

• How to Apply for Unemployment Benefits

• Applying for Benefits Online for COVID-19 Claims Only or

At present, the U.S. government and Texas legislature have not changed any laws or rules concerning unemployment benefits during the pandemic. However, Department of Labor guidance provides that federal law permits significant flexibility for states to provide Unemployment Insurance (UI) services related to COVID-19. Based on this, TWC will be waiving work search requirements for all claimants and the waiting week for those claimants affected by COVID-19. 

Apply for benefits as soon as you are unemployed because your claim starts the week you complete the application. However, you may not apply until after your last work day. We cannot pay benefits for weeks before your claim effective date. The effective date is the Sunday of the week in which you apply.

The Texas Unemployment Insurance (UI) program pays benefits to those individuals who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. TWC determines benefit eligibility based on past wages, why someone lost their job, and ongoing eligibility requirements.

• Unemployment Eligibility Scenarios for Job Seekers
• How to Apply for Unemployment Benefits
• Applying for Benefits Online for COVID-19 Claims Only or

If it has been three weeks or less since your last payment request:

• Request payment at ui.texasworkforce.org or call 1-800-558-8321.
• Be sure to report any hours you worked and any earnings during the period requested.

If it has been more than three weeks since your last payment request:

• Apply for Benefits again at ui.texasworkforce.org or by calling our Tele-Center at 800-939-6631.
• To help TWC activate your claim quickly, select layoff as the reason you lost your job if you were furloughed or the business closed.

Texans who have lost employment-based health insurance can find information and resources on the Texas Department of Insurance's COVID-19 Resource page. Available resources include: 

• Help for consumers who need health insurance.
• How to get help with a mental health issue.
• FAQ on telemedicine, auto policy refunds, and other issues.

• Virtual Job Fairs