diff --git a/internal/service/task_service.go b/internal/service/task_service.go
index ef344c1..d40e7e3 100644
--- a/internal/service/task_service.go
+++ b/internal/service/task_service.go
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ func uniqueInt64s(ids []int64) []int64 {
 
 func (s *TaskService) mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(slurmState []string) string {
 	if len(slurmState) == 0 {
-		return model.TaskStatusRunning
+		return ""
 	}
 
 	state := strings.ToUpper(slurmState[0])
@@ -511,7 +511,8 @@ func (s *TaskService) mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(slurmState []string) string {
 	case "FAILED", "CANCELLED", "TIMEOUT", "NODE_FAIL", "OUT_OF_MEMORY", "PREEMPTED":
 		return model.TaskStatusFailed
 	default:
-		return model.TaskStatusRunning
+		s.logger.Warn("unrecognized slurm state, skipping update", zap.String("state", state))
+		return ""
 	}
 }
 
@@ -542,15 +543,16 @@ func (s *TaskService) refreshTaskStatus(ctx context.Context, taskID int64) error
 	}
 
 	newStatus := s.mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(jobResp.State)
-	if newStatus != task.Status {
-		s.logger.Info("updating task status from slurm",
-			zap.Int64("task_id", taskID),
-			zap.String("old_status", task.Status),
-			zap.String("new_status", newStatus),
-		)
-		return s.taskStore.UpdateStatus(ctx, taskID, newStatus, "")
+	if newStatus == "" || newStatus == task.Status {
+		return nil
 	}
-	return nil
+
+	s.logger.Info("updating task status from slurm",
+		zap.Int64("task_id", taskID),
+		zap.String("old_status", task.Status),
+		zap.String("new_status", newStatus),
+	)
+	return s.taskStore.UpdateStatus(ctx, taskID, newStatus, "")
 }
 
 func (s *TaskService) RefreshStaleTasks(ctx context.Context) error {
diff --git a/internal/service/task_service_status_test.go b/internal/service/task_service_status_test.go
index 1a7d23c..3c94d8f 100644
--- a/internal/service/task_service_status_test.go
+++ b/internal/service/task_service_status_test.go
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ func TestTaskService_MapSlurmState_AllStates(t *testing.T) {
 		{[]string{"OUT_OF_MEMORY"}, model.TaskStatusFailed},
 		{[]string{"PREEMPTED"}, model.TaskStatusFailed},
 		{[]string{"SPECIAL_EXIT"}, model.TaskStatusRunning},
-		{[]string{"unknown_state"}, model.TaskStatusRunning},
+		{[]string{"unknown_state"}, ""},
 		{[]string{"pending"}, model.TaskStatusQueued},
 		{[]string{"Running"}, model.TaskStatusRunning},
 	}
@@ -115,13 +115,13 @@ func TestTaskService_MapSlurmState_Empty(t *testing.T) {
 	defer env.close()
 
 	got := env.svc.mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus([]string{})
-	if got != model.TaskStatusRunning {
-		t.Errorf("mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus([]) = %q, want %q", got, model.TaskStatusRunning)
+	if got != "" {
+		t.Errorf("mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus([]) = %q, want empty string", got)
 	}
 
 	got = env.svc.mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(nil)
-	if got != model.TaskStatusRunning {
-		t.Errorf("mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(nil) = %q, want %q", got, model.TaskStatusRunning)
+	if got != "" {
+		t.Errorf("mapSlurmStateToTaskStatus(nil) = %q, want empty string", got)
 	}
 }