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Bottom line: 8 months of recent work should easily qualify you in Washington as long as you earned decent wages. The employment gap before that doesn't matter for eligibility purposes. Your base period includes 18 months of potential work history, not just your most recent job.
One last tip - when you do apply, make sure to keep track of your confirmation number and save copies of everything. Washington ESD's online system can be glitchy and you want proof that you submitted everything correctly and on time.
For budgeting purposes, assume you'll get roughly 40-50% of your previous weekly gross pay. That's usually pretty close for most people.
The amount also depends on how much you made in your 'base period' which is the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. So recent pay raises might not count if they happened too recently.
The whole thing is such a hassle but the benefits really help when you're between jobs. I collected for about 4 months last year and it made a huge difference in keeping up with my bills.
For job search requirements, you need 3 job search activities per week in Washington. Make sure you're logging these in WorkSourceWA because they do audit them randomly.
The 'unemployment' status is basically Washington ESD's way of saying your claim exists and is active. Once you get past the waiting week and any verification steps, you should see payment activity in your account.
Nia Wilson
The amount you get also depends on how many weeks you're eligible for. Higher earners might get more money per week but fewer total weeks of benefits.
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Natasha Petrova
•Actually in Washington, everyone gets up to 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits regardless of their benefit amount. The duration doesn't vary based on how much you earn.
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Nia Wilson
•Oh really? I thought it was different. Thanks for the correction!
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Mateo Sanchez
Bottom line: expect roughly half your weekly wage up to $999/week, paid weekly after you file your weekly claim. File ASAP after losing your job because there's a waiting week and you want to get the process started.
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Javier Hernandez
•Glad we could help! The Washington ESD system isn't too bad once you understand how it works.
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Emma Davis
•And remember, if you need to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD, don't hesitate to use tools like Claimyr to get through their phone system.
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