New law says prove you’re job hunting or your unemployment check disappears

New law raises the bar for claimants

Arkansas started the new year with tougher rules for anyone collecting unemployment.

Act 708 took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and it requires every claimant to make at least five work-search contacts per week. Those contacts have to show up on the weekly certification, too.

Miss the mark, and benefits disappear for that week.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the law as part of a batch of bills from the 2025 legislative session.

Old rules depended on where you lived

Before Act 708, the number of required weekly contacts varied by location.

Claimants in metro areas had to make three to five contacts per week, while people in rural parts of the state only needed two to four.

The Division of Workforce Services (DWS) set the exact number for each person based on their situation. That sliding scale is gone now.

Everyone has the same flat minimum of five, no matter where in Arkansas they live.

State job board now matches claimants automatically

The law also built a new matching system into the state job board.

It automatically pairs claimants with open positions when their qualifications meet at least 75% of a job’s listed requirements.

If someone matches with five or more jobs, the state encourages them to apply to the top five. If they match with fewer, they should apply to those plus other open listings.

The key word here is “encourages.” Applying to matched jobs is not a requirement.

Skipping contacts means losing that week’s pay

The consequences are simple. If a claimant does not complete five work-search contacts in a given week, they lose benefits for that week.

The DWS must audit at least 100 weekly work-search reports every week to keep people honest. Claimants have to keep detailed records of every contact, including employer names, dates, and how they reached out.

False or incomplete records can lead to delayed or denied benefits.

Not everything counts as a contact

So what actually qualifies? Reaching out to an employer with hiring authority counts.

Registering with a private employment agency counts once per agency during a period of unemployment. Showing up at a DWS office when called in counts, and so does attending a state Job Search Workshop.

There is one catch most people should know about.

At least one contact per week generally has to happen in person, unless the claimant’s field typically uses phone or mail.

Lawmakers filed the bill in early 2025

Act 708 started as House Bill 1582. Representatives McAlindon, Rose, and Underwood sponsored it in the House, while Sen. J. English carried it in the Senate.

Lawmakers approved the bill on April 16, 2025, and set the effective date for Jan. 1, 2026. The law had months to settle before claimants had to start following the new rules.

Unemployment has been climbing in Arkansas

The timing matters because Arkansas’ job market has been softening. The state’s unemployment rate hit about 4.2% in December 2025, up from roughly 4.1% in November.

That is six-tenths of a percentage point higher than December 2024.

The number of unemployed Arkansans topped 60,000 in December for the first time since 2015, not counting the pandemic spike. At the same time, the state’s civilian labor force reached a record high of over 1.44 million.

Few states ask for this many contacts

Five contacts a week puts Arkansas among the strictest states for work-search rules. Florida, Idaho, and Nebraska also require five weekly activities.

But most states fall in the two-to-four range, and some ask for as little as one or two. Delaware and Alaska sit at the low end.

Every state brought back work-search rules after pandemic-era waivers ended, but how aggressively they enforce them varies widely.

Benefits max out at about $451 a week

Arkansas unemployment checks range from about $81 to $451 per week.

The state calculates the amount as one twenty-sixth of the claimant’s highest quarterly wages during their base period, which covers the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before filing.

Benefits can last up to about 20 weeks depending on wage history, though claimants should check with the DWS directly for exact figures. Arkansas does not offer dependent allowances on top of that amount.

Some claimants can skip the five-contact rule

Not everyone has to hit five contacts every week. Claimants on temporary layoff with a recall date within 10 weeks may qualify for an exemption.

Union members whose hiring hall makes contacts on their behalf can meet the requirement through their representative. Claimants enrolled in approved training programs may also have modified rules.

Every exemption needs verification and approval from the DWS, so nobody gets a pass automatically.

Filing starts online through Arkansas LAUNCH

All initial unemployment claims go through the Arkansas LAUNCH system online.

Claimants also have to create an account on the state job board listing their work experience and credentials. Weekly certifications must go in after each week ends.

If you do not have internet access, any Arkansas Workforce Center offers computers and staff help. The DWS hotline is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central, at 1-844-908-2178.

Other new laws hit Arkansas on the same day

Act 708 was not the only big change on Jan. 1. Arkansas also removed its state grocery sales tax and put new healthcare coverage mandates in place.

The state’s labor force participation rate was about 59% in December 2025, up from the year before. But the state’s chief economist called 2025 a year of uncertainty, pointing to tariff-related hiring hesitation.

Employers have been slow to add jobs due to shifting federal trade policy, which could make five contacts a week harder to hit in some areas.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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