Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr connects you to a live ESD agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the ESD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the ESD drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Great discussion everyone. The main takeaways for new employers: 1) Respond to Washington ESD notices within 10 days, 2) Keep good employment records, 3) Contest invalid claims to protect your experience rating, 4) Use the online system when possible, 5) Appeal if you disagree with decisions. Washington ESD isn't perfect but the system works if you understand it.
Perfect summary, thank you! This has been incredibly helpful for understanding the employer side of unemployment.
Agreed, this thread should be pinned or something. Lots of good practical advice here.
And remember, if you do need to reach Washington ESD by phone for complex issues, services like Claimyr can save you hours of hold time. Sometimes you just need to talk to a human to get things sorted out properly.
Definitely keeping that option in mind. Thanks everyone for all the helpful information!
Join the conversation
One more thing about the calculation - if you worked in multiple states, you might be able to combine wages from different states to get a higher benefit. It's called an interstate claim.
I only worked in Washington so that doesn't apply to me, but good to know for others.
Yeah I had to do this when I moved here from Oregon. Made a big difference in my benefit amount.
Bottom line - if you think your calculation is wrong, don't just accept it. Get your wage records, double-check everything, and request a redetermination if needed. The worst they can say is no, but you might get hundreds more per week if there was an error.
Thanks everyone! This has been super helpful. I'm going to check my wage records and see if that part-time job is included in the calculation.
Good luck! And remember that Claimyr option if you need to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD about your specific situation.
Join the conversation
I work in payroll and can confirm the 2025 FUTA rate is still 6% on first $7,000 of wages, with the 5.4% credit available for most employers. Nothing new there.
Appreciate the confirmation from someone who deals with this professionally!
Yeah it's nice to get facts instead of speculation on these tax questions.
If you're really concerned about benefit changes, the best thing is to call Washington ESD directly. Though like others said, that's easier said than done with their phone system...
I finally got through using Claimyr after weeks of failed attempts. They have this whole system for getting past the busy signals - check out their video demo if you're curious.
At this point I'm willing to try anything to reach a real person at ESD.
Join the conversation
For what it's worth, I think the term 'frictional unemployment' actually makes it sound worse than it is. It's really just the normal time it takes to find a good job match. When I was between positions last year, I used that time to be more selective about my next role rather than just taking the first thing available.
Good point. The 'friction' part makes it sound like a problem, but it's really just the natural process of job matching.
Right! And unemployment insurance is designed to support people during this process so they can make better career decisions.
Bottom line: Washington ESD doesn't care what type of unemployment you have as long as you meet their requirements. File your weekly claims, do your job search activities, and be available for work. The economic terminology is just for understanding labor market trends, not for individual claim processing.
Perfect summary. Thanks everyone for the clarification - I feel much better about my situation now.
Glad it helped! The system can seem overwhelming but the basics are pretty straightforward.
Dallas Villalobos
I think this discussion shows why unemployment policy is so complicated. Everyone wants people to have jobs, but the path to get there involves tradeoffs between different economic goals. At least we have unemployment insurance to help people during transitions, even if the Washington ESD system could work better.
0 coins
Khalid Howes
•Yeah, this thread has been really educational. I still wish zero unemployment was possible, but I understand better why it's not the target.
0 coins
Ben Cooper
•The key is distinguishing between unemployment as a personal hardship (which we should minimize) and unemployment as an economic indicator (which will never be zero).
0 coins
Reina Salazar
Thanks everyone for all the perspectives on this. Really helped me understand the bigger picture while I'm dealing with my own situation. And thanks for the Claimyr tip - definitely going to try that for my Washington ESD issues.
0 coins
Rosie Harper
•You're welcome! Hope it helps with your claim. The economic discussion was interesting too - good question to start with.
0 coins
Khalid Howes
•Yeah, learned a lot from everyone. Sometimes the theory behind policy decisions makes more sense when you discuss it with real people dealing with the system.
0 coins