During the last six months, my husband was unemployed and searching. Though we had never made an unemployment claim before, the Texas Workforce Commission process actually was very easy to do. The trick is to keep it that way.
Begin online at the website for the Texas Workforce Commission. On the left side of the screen is a link called “Apply for Benefits”. Fill out the forms on the screens that follow, and make sure to print out your confirmation when you’re finished. The TWC will follow up by mail, letting you know whether or not you’re entitled to benefits.
If you are, you will be told how many contacts you are required to make each week in order to receive benefits, and how much you’ll qualify for. It won’t be a lot, but it’s better than nothing when you’re unemployed.
TWC will send you a notice of what you’ve received, and make a deposit for you on a debit card they will send. You can then take the debit card to your bank, and have the money deposited into your bank account, or you can simply withdraw and use the cash as you need it.
Keep a record in Excel or on paper of the applications you make, or the job fairs you attend, or the employment agencies you register with. Each of these, as well as other activities, qualify as job hunting activities with TWC.
Be ready to be called into your local TWC office to participate in a seminar on how to sign up for and use TWC’s job board. It’s worthwhile to do this, since national job boards such as Monster are basically useless for a serious job search, but TWC posts local, smaller companies that don’t receive as many applications, and are thus more likely to result in an interview for you. If you have an open claim with TWC, you will be required to check the job board on a regular basis, or lose your benefits.
Once you have an open claim, you continue to make claims every two weeks during the period of time that you need the money. Make sure you know which day you’re supposed to make your claim, and make sure to make your claim on that day regularly. If you miss your claim day, your benefits might be interrupted.
You can take part-time or interim work and continue to make a claim, as long as you’re making less money than the amount of your claim. You report your earnings every two weeks, and then TWC makes up the difference. In one sense, this is a good thing. It makes your unemployment benefits last longer, and keeps you busy while you’re looking for full-time work.
But be cautious when you do this. It may be better for you to job-search full-time until your benefits run out, and then to run out to deliver pizzas in your spare time. If you find your part-time work unsatisfactory for any reason and quit, your benefits could be interrupted while the TWC determines if you quit for an “approved” reason. It’s a lot of hassle that just doesn’t seem worth it, considering how much hassle it is just to be unemployed in the first place.
The unemployment money we received from the Texas Workforce Commission was a lifesaver for our family during our six months of unemployment, and that is what it’s for. Hopefully this information will help others who need to navigate the governmental waters of the TWC to get through their own unemployment phase.
