Just to clarify some misconceptions in this thread: The 'able and available for 40 hours' requirement doesn't mean you must be available 24/7. It means you must be available during the normal work hours for your occupation. For administrative work, that's typically business hours Monday-Friday. If you were previously part-time but are now claiming full unemployment benefits, you need to be available for full-time work. This means you should be job searching for both part-time AND full-time positions that match your skills. Answer honestly about any weeks where you had limitations. If there were legitimate reasons (illness, one-time appointments, etc.), explain those. ESD evaluates each situation individually.

I went through this exact same process about 6 months ago! The key thing to remember is that "able and available for 40 hours" doesn't mean you need to be sitting by your phone 24/7 waiting for work calls. It means during your normal occupation's work hours, you could accept a full-time position if offered. Since you were an admin assistant, they're asking if during standard business hours (typically M-F 8-5 or 9-5), you were physically able to work and available to accept employment. Things that would make you "not available" would be being out of town, having medical issues that prevented work, lack of childcare during work hours, etc. The fact that your previous job was only 32 hours doesn't matter - when you file for unemployment, you're stating you're ready to work full-time if needed. Just answer truthfully about whether there were any specific weeks where you couldn't have accepted a full-time admin position during business hours. If you were available all weeks, say so. If there were a few days you weren't (like for a medical appointment), specify those and explain why. Don't overthink it - they just need to verify continued eligibility. Most people get through this without any issues!

wait im confused... did the governors office actually confirm they sent your info to ESD? Sometimes they take your info but theres a delay before they actually send the request.

Just checking back - any updates on your situation? Did you try contacting the governor's office again or have any luck getting through to ESD?

I've been through something similar - was self-employed for about 18 months and worried I wouldn't qualify. The most important thing is checking your base period wages in your ESD account first. I was surprised to find I had enough W-2 wages from my previous job to qualify, even though it felt like forever ago. The benefit amount was lower than I hoped since it was based on older wages, but it definitely helped bridge the gap while I looked for new work. Also, be prepared for the adjudication process to take a few weeks - they'll want to verify your work history and may ask for tax documents showing your self-employment income. Don't let the complexity discourage you from applying though!

I'm in almost the exact same situation - been self-employed for about 2.5 years and work has completely dried up. Reading through all these responses has been really helpful, especially learning about checking the base period wages first. I had no idea that was even a thing! I worked part-time at a marketing agency while getting my freelance business off the ground, so hopefully those wages are still in my base period. The Claimyr service sounds interesting too - I've been dreading trying to call Washington ESD because everyone says it's impossible to get through. Has anyone here actually used it recently? I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee if it means I can actually talk to a real person about my situation instead of spending days redialing busy signals.

For what it's worth, 8 months of consistent part-time work should definitely be enough to qualify, especially if you were working regular hours. You're probably worrying for nothing!

Last bit of advice - apply as soon as you're unemployed, don't wait. There's a waiting week, and benefits are calculated from when you file, not when you lost your job. Time matters!

Thanks everyone for the input! Sounds like I just need to be patient and keep filing my weekly claims. I'll try that Claimyr service if I hit the one-month mark with no movement. Really helpful to know this is normal for Washington and not something specific to my claim. I'll update here when something changes in case it helps others in the same situation.

I'm in a very similar situation - moved from Oregon to Washington a few months ago and was shocked by the difference in processing times! Oregon was always so quick and their online system was much more user-friendly. Washington's ESD feels like stepping back in time. I'm currently waiting on a claim that's been pending for 4 weeks now, which would have been resolved in under 2 weeks back in Oregon. The lack of real-time updates or clear communication about what's happening is the most frustrating part. At least in Oregon you could see if your claim was moving through different stages of review. Here it's just "pending" until one day it magically isn't. Hang in there - from what I've heard from others, most claims do eventually get processed, it just takes forever!