The Texas Workforce Commission announced that it will delay the reinstatement of the "work search" requirement for unemployment benefits in Texas.
This suspension is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The requirement that Texans should be looking for a job to claim benefits was supposed to go into effect Monday, July 6.
In the past, the TWC has stated that bringing back the "work search" requirement would be conditions-based.
This announcement by the TWC comes after the spike in COVID-19 cases seen around Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to scale back the reopening of businesses across the state.
"Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Texas, TWC has decided to pause the return of work search requirements at this time," said Ed Serna, TWC Executive Director. "We will continue to monitor the situation and make further recommendations in late July."
The work search requirement said Texans must prove they engaged in at least three work-search activities when applying for unemployment benefits. Self-employed workers have to prove they took at least three steps to reopen their business.
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Last week, Texas had its first decline in unemployment rates since March, with the rate decreasing to 13%. The Texas economy added 291,000 private sector positions in the last month.
The TWC says they will revisit the work search requirement in late July.
