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For what it's worth, once you understand how the waiting week works, it's pretty straightforward. Just think of it as your last week's payment instead of your first week's payment.
Thanks everyone for all the info about waiting weeks. This thread has been super helpful in understanding how it actually works versus what I thought it was supposed to do.
For anyone else reading this later - the key takeaway is wait until after your last day of work before filing your initial unemployment claim with Washington ESD. Don't risk the adjudication delays by filing early.
Bottom line: the unemployment rate is calculated as unemployed people divided by total labor force. For your UI benefits, it mainly matters for potentially triggering extended benefit programs when the rate stays high for consecutive months. Your individual benefit amount is based on your wages, not the unemployment rate.
One more thing - if you're having trouble getting information from Washington ESD directly, that Claimyr service mentioned earlier actually works. I was skeptical at first but it got me through to an agent who explained my claim status in 5 minutes vs the weeks I spent trying to call myself.
Does anyone know if they ever review or recalculate your benefit amount after your claim starts? Like if there was an error initially?
Thanks for this detailed breakdown everyone! I feel like I finally understand how Washington ESD calculates unemployment benefits. The formula isn't as mysterious as I thought.
Christian Bierman
4 months?? What kind of issues are you having?
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Makayla Shoemaker
Long story involving identity verification and wage disputes. But at least the clock started ticking when I first filed.
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