9,000 people busted for not seeking work while on unemployment

If you're getting unemployment checks in Washington, you know you're supposed to be applying for three jobs a week. But state officials said they've busted more than 9,000 people who failed to fulfill that requirement while collecting unemployment benefits last year.

They included a woman who said she stopped at a movie theater to ask about a job, while on her way to her church wedding in Texas, officials said Tuesday.

"Unrealistic," they quoted a state investigator as saying. After scrutinizing her job-search efforts, the Employment Security Department said the woman owed the state in $1,400 in jobless benefits she didn't earn.

Investigators reviewed the job-search logs of more than 66,000 people last year, finding that 9,000 had failed to look for work while collecting $23 million in benefits.

"Unemployment benefits are not meant to be a paid vacation," Employment Security Commissioner Paul Trause said in a statement.

"If you're not making a legitimate attempt to get back to work, there's a good chance we're going to find out and make you return the benefits."

Whether there are actually three legitimate job openings a week for jobless people is another matter, prompting some to apply for jobs they don't want, can't do and won't get.

Earlier this year, state officials said nearly 7,000 people lied and cheated to collect unemployment checks last year, a 56 percent rise in fraud cases since 2009.

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