Starting May 30, 2021, Hawai‘i residents currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits will be required to show their job search information.  This unemployment insurance feature was suspended during the pandemic but will now be reinstated.

Under the reinstated requirement, claimants must make at least three job search contacts per week. This includes registering for work on HireNet Hawai‘i, applying for jobs by submitting a resume, or attending a job fair. Individuals must keep a written log of job contacts and must be ready to submit the log to the UI Division upon request. Failure to do so could result in ineligibility for UI benefits.  Job search requirement applies to individuals who have lost their full-time jobs and are on regular unemployment or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.  Individuals who are still attached to their regular full-time employer, are members of a union that provides job placement services, or are receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA ) benefits are not mandated by law to meet the job search requirement.

In a press release Governor Ige said, “when the pandemic shut down global tourism, there was no work for people in the hospitality sector. In response, the state relaxed the job search requirement for recipients of unemployment insurance benefits. Today, the public health measures we implemented and the success of our vaccine program have paved the way for us to reenergize our economy. As tourism has picked up, more employers are looking for workers to fill positions.”