Texas Unemployment Checklist: Weekly Work Search Rules, Excel Log and Documents to Gather

Who it is for

People claiming unemployment in Texas who need to keep a weekly work search record for Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), and family members helping them stay organized.

Not the right fit if

You claim unemployment in a state other than Texas, or you need help with a denied claim or an appeal: this organizes the weekly work search record and doesn't advise on eligibility.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Texas work search data file, checked November 2026 against 2 official pages: TWC: Work search requirements; TWC: Required number of work search activities by county.
• 1 item the official pages didn't state is printed as "Not confirmed — check" with the agency's page, never guessed.
• The Excel summary flags any week with fewer than 1 logged activities, recalculating with zero formula errors.

What is inside

• Texas weekly work search log (Excel). A log with the columns Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) asks for (Date, Activity, Job title or type of work, Employer or organization, Address, website or email, Phone, Person contacted, How you made contact, Result), a weekly summary that counts your activities against Texas's 1 to 5 per week and a documents checklist.
• Start here: Texas filing and work search steps. The 10 facts Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)'s pages confirm, each with its source and check date, and 1 marked "Not confirmed — check": how the week is counted. The weekly requirement, in the agency's words: Your local Workforce Development Board sets the minimum, from 1 to 5 a week depending on your county (5 in Harris, Dallas, Travis and Bexar counties in November 2026). TWC sends you a letter with your number; rely on the letter over the county list. How to report: Keep a work search log and provide it when TWC asks, by the address or fax TWC gives you or through the secure UI Submission Portal. Activities Texas counts: registering on WorkInTexas.com; searching jobs on WorkInTexas.com and using its Virtual Recruiter; following up on job leads from WorkInTexas.com or Workforce Solutions staff; in-person visits, completing a job application or interviewing with employers; creating a reemployment plan; creating or uploading a résumé to online job boards; job clubs, job fairs and other work-related networking events; searching the U.S. National Labor Exchange; using Workforce Solutions reemployment services. Records: Keep all your work search logs for your entire benefit year, or for as long as you receive benefits, whichever is longer. Job bank: WorkInTexas.com (registration required). Who may not have to search, per the agency: temporary layoff with a definite return-to-work date; membership in good standing in a union with a non-discriminatory hiring hall; A TWC-approved training program that includes a work search exemption; trade Act training; A Shared Work program.
• Documents to gather. A checklist of the papers a claim usually asks for (IDs, employer names and dates, pay records, separation papers), with space for anything Texas's application adds.
• Printable weekly work search log. A paper version of the log with Texas's columns, one week per page, for claimants who prefer to write it down.