The Office of the State Auditor completed a follow-up performance audit to determine whether the Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security (DES) implemented corrective actions to address findings and recommendations made in OSA’s September 2022 Improper Unemployment Benefit Payments report.

This audit report found that DES implemented four of the five prior audit recommendations. DES did not fully implement the work search repository as part of the weekly certification process until December 2025, which was more than three years after receiving federal grant funding to build it.

Additionally, this audit report found that DES had an average improper payment rate of 22% during the scope period, exceeding the 10% federal limit. As a result, approximately $90.3 million in improper payments over and above what would have been expected if the improper payment rate was kept to the federal threshold.

DES agreed with the findings and recommendations. DES’s formal response is included in the report.

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