How is unemployment calculated in California EDD? Breaking down my weekly benefit amount

Wait so they don't use my most recent wages? I was earning more toward the end of the year with all the overtime but if they're cutting off at September 2024 that would explain the lower number.

Yeah the base period thing tripped me up too when I first filed. It feels backwards that they use older wages instead of what you were most recently making.

Exactly - and that's actually why California EDD has an 'alternate base period' option. If you qualify, they can use the most recent four completed quarters instead of the standard base period. You'd need to contact EDD to request a recomputation using the alternate base period if you think your more recent wages would result in a higher WBA.

Seriously going to look into this, I cannot take another day of calling and getting hung up on. Did you have to do anything complicated to use it?

Not at all, pretty straightforward process. Once I got connected to the agent they were actually really helpful and explained everything clearly. Worth trying if you're hitting walls with the regular phone line.

Bookmarking this. I've been trying to reach EDD for three weeks about my base period wages not being reported correctly by my employer and I'm losing my mind trying to get through.

The formula is actually: your weekly benefit amount = (highest quarter wages × 0.6) ÷ 13. So if OP's highest quarter was $8,385, that math does check out to $387. But given $58k annual salary with overtime, their highest quarter should be higher than that unless the overtime happened in a quarter that falls outside the base period.

This is making me think the alternate base period option the other commenter mentioned is definitely worth pursuing. My overtime was concentrated in Q4 2024 which would be outside my standard base period if I filed in January 2025.

Yes that would absolutely be the issue then. Request an alternate base period recomputation - you'd need to contact EDD directly for that.

47 times omg. I've been keeping count and I'm at like 23 attempts over 4 days. It's genuinely demoralizing.

Did you ever get it resolved? What ended up working for you?

What finally worked for me was calling right when the phone lines open at 8am. Like literally have the number dialing at 7:59. Even then it's a crapshoot but your odds are way better than calling mid-morning when everyone else is trying.

I hadn't even thought about the employer reporting side of this. How do I request the wage verification? Is that something I can do online through UI Online or does it require calling?

You can submit a request through UI Online by going to the inbox and sending a message, or you can mail in a written request. But honestly getting someone on the phone is faster if they've actually made an error in your wage records. The alternate base period request also typically requires a phone call or written request rather than being something you can just toggle online.

This happened to me! My employer reported one of my quarters late and EDD's initial calculation was way off. Once they got the corrected wage report the recalculated my WBA and I ended up getting back payments for the difference.

Actually seasonal workers with high-earning quarters can sometimes benefit from the calculation formula because it's based on the HIGHEST quarter rather than averaging all four. So if you had one great quarter of $30k and three slow quarters, your WBA would be based on that $30k quarter. ($30,000 x 0.6 ÷ 13 = $1,384 per week, but that hits the $450 max cap). The flip side is if your recent higher earnings don't fall in the standard base period, you might need that alternate base period option.

oh okay that makes more sense actually. so the base period cutoff timing is really the main thing that screws people not the highest quarter part of the formula

I only had the one warehouse job so I don't think that's the issue for me, but good to know for others reading this.

This is such a common issue especially for gig workers or people with multiple part time jobs. Always verify ALL your wages are in the system.

And also double check if you had any self employment income or 1099 work - those wages are counted differently and sometimes not included at all in regular UI calculations.

You can actually check your UI Online account once your claim is filed - there should be a section showing your claim details including base period wages. Not every claimant can see the full breakdown but it's worth checking your account. You can also contact EDD before the award letter if you have reason to believe there might be wage reporting issues.

okay going to log in right now and look. fingers crossed everything looks right

I ended up using Claimyr after seeing it mentioned upthread and got connected to an EDD agent this morning. She looked up my base period wages and confirmed my employer had under-reported one quarter. Now I need to gather my paystubs but at least I know what the issue is.

That's really encouraging to hear it worked for someone else in a similar situation. I'm definitely going to try it for the alternate base period request.

Good to hear actual confirmation it works. I've seen it mentioned in other threads but was wondering if it was legit.

$450 max feels like a cruel joke when rent alone in most of California is $2000+. Like it covers maybe half of one month's rent if you're lucky.

There are periodic proposals to raise the maximum WBA in California but nothing has passed yet as of 2025. It's been a point of contention for a while.

Yeah the WBA cap hasn't kept up with inflation or California costs at all. Doesn't help someone trying to figure out their claim calculation but it's worth knowing going in.

This is literally my situation almost exactly. Really helpful to hear it worked out and to know what timeline to expect for the recomputation.

Yes just be patient and keep filing your weekly certifications as normal during the wait. The recalculated amount will be backdated to your claim start date so you won't lose out on the difference for weeks already paid.

Oh I didn't know they backdate the adjustment - that's really good to know. So if I'm getting $387 now and it gets corrected to say $430, they'd pay me the difference for all the weeks already certified?

So correcting from $387 to something higher would compound over 26 weeks potentially. Yeah I need to get this sorted out for sure.

Exactly. A $50/week difference over a 26-week claim period is $1,300 total. Worth making a few phone calls.

EDD uses your gross wages before taxes for the calculation. The wages your employer reports on the quarterly wage report are gross wages. So don't use your net take-home pay when trying to estimate what your WBA should be - use the gross amount from your paystubs or your W-2 box 16 (California wages).

oh that's good to know. i was trying to calculate mine with my net pay and it didn't match at all, that explains it. thanks

Super common mix-up. Gross wages before taxes, divided by 4 to get your quarterly estimate, then apply the formula. Your employer's quarterly reports to EDD should match your W-2 wages pretty closely.

EDD is supposed to use whichever base period gives you the higher benefit amount. So in theory if your alternate base period calculation comes back lower, they should stick with the standard. That said I'd confirm this directly with an EDD agent when you call because I want to make sure I'm not giving you wrong info on something that important.

Makes sense that they'd use whichever is higher. Going to call EDD and ask before requesting anything formally just to make sure I understand my options.

Correct - the alternate base period is specifically designed to help claimants who would receive a higher WBA with more recent wages. EDD should compute both and apply the more favorable calculation.

This gives me hope! I'm setting an alarm for 7:55 tomorrow and trying the 8am open strategy.

Do it! Also have your claim ID number ready, SSN ready, and have your paystubs nearby in case they need to verify wages. The agent was efficient once we got connected.

Good luck OP! Let us know what happens with your alternate base period request.

The lag exists because employers report wages quarterly and there's processing time before EDD has verified data. The alternate base period was actually added specifically because so many people were getting underpaid due to the timing gap. The system could definitely be cleaner but at least the alternate base period option exists for people who know to ask for it.

fair point that the alternate base period is a real remedy, I just feel bad for people who don't know to ask and just accept whatever their first award letter says

This is why threads like this are valuable honestly. Most first time claimants have no idea the alternate base period even exists.

So glad you got it resolved! The alternate base period thing trips up so many people. Nice that the agent actually took the time to explain the calculation to you.

Great outcome! And yes that's exactly why I recommend Claimyr for situations where you actually need to talk to someone - when the issue involves something like a base period recalculation you really need a real person to initiate that process.

Perfect result. Keep filing your weekly certifications as normal in the meantime and you should see the corrected WBA reflected in 2-3 weeks. The difference will be backdated too so you'll get a catch-up payment.

This is the good ending we needed lol. Congrats and good luck with the rest of your claim!