Can't reach Washington Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
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
Glad you found it! Thanks for sharing both navigation paths - that will definitely help others. Make sure to download and save a copy for your records.
Just wanted to add that if you're still having trouble accessing eServices, you can also try using a different browser or clearing your browser cache. I had login issues last month and switching from Chrome to Firefox solved it immediately. Also, make sure you're using the secure.esd.wa.gov URL and not any other ESD website - there are some fake/scam sites out there that look similar but won't actually let you access your real account information.
Great point about the different browsers! I actually had a similar issue with the WA state unemployment site last year - it wouldn't work in Safari but worked fine in Edge. Also really important warning about the fake sites. I almost got caught by one of those scam sites when I was desperately trying to access my account. Always double-check that URL! For anyone new to this, the legitimate site is secure.esd.wa.gov - if it doesn't have the "secure" part or ends in anything other than .wa.gov, don't enter your login info.
Join the conversation
Has anyone actually been able to reach ESD to get clear answers on this? I've been trying to call for TWO WEEKS about my self-employment situation and it's always "high call volume" and they hang up. It's absolutely ridiculous that they expect us to follow these complicated rules but won't answer the phone to explain them!
I had the same issue but finally got through using Claimyr. It's a service that basically holds your place in line and calls you when an ESD agent is available. Saved me hours of redial hell. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent I spoke with clarified all my self-employment reporting questions and even noted my account so I wouldn't have issues in the future.
Thank you all so much for the helpful information! I'm going to start tracking my design work hours more carefully and report the gross earnings during the week I actually do the work. I'll make sure to stay under that 25% threshold when possible to maximize my benefits while I'm job hunting. This community has been way more helpful than the ESD website!
You're welcome! One last tip: when you do your weekly claim, there's a section for comments. I always add a brief note there explaining my self-employment situation (like "Reported $175 in graphic design work done this week"). It creates a record in case there are questions later. Good luck with your job search!
That's a great tip about adding notes to the weekly claim! I didn't know you could do that. For anyone else reading this thread, I'd also suggest keeping screenshots of your weekly claim submissions showing what you reported. I learned this from dealing with other government agencies - documentation is everything when it comes to proving you followed the rules correctly.
Join the conversation
Update on the Claimyr thing - I actually used it again last week when I had questions about my job search requirements. Still works great for getting through to someone at Washington ESD without the usual phone hassles. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your specific situation.
How quickly did you get connected to someone?
Pretty fast - maybe 10-15 minutes compared to the hours I used to spend trying to call directly.
Bottom line: if you've worked and paid into the system, lost work through no fault of your own, and are able and available to work, you likely qualify. The application will walk you through everything step by step.
Perfect. I'm going to apply this weekend. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info!
Good luck with your application! From everything you've shared, it sounds like you have a solid case for partial unemployment benefits since your hours were cut due to business slowdown. Just remember to file soon since there's no backdating, and keep track of your job search activities once you're approved.
Join the conversation
Final update for anyone finding this thread later: I got my closure form submitted and received confirmation 5 weeks later. The process worked exactly like everyone described. Thanks for all the help!
Awesome, glad it worked out! I'm going to start gathering my paperwork this week.
Good luck! Just make sure everything is current before you submit and you should be fine.
Thanks for all the detailed info everyone! I'm in a similar situation - closing my small consulting firm and need to shut down the employer account. Sounds like the key steps are: 1) Make sure all quarterly reports are filed and current, 2) Pay any outstanding UI taxes, 3) File Form EMS-8050 through SecureAccess Washington, and 4) Keep confirmation documentation. Going to start gathering everything this week. Really appreciate this thread - saved me a lot of confusion!
That's exactly right Sophie! Just went through this myself a few months ago and that checklist would have saved me so much time. One more tip - if you run into any issues getting through to ESD on the phone (which seems pretty common based on this thread), don't hesitate to use that Claimyr service Roger mentioned. I was skeptical at first but it really does work better than sitting on hold forever. The whole process took about 6 weeks from submission to getting my official closure confirmation letter.
Ali Anderson
UPDATE: Found it! It was on my bank statement like someone suggested. The automatic payment to Washington ESD had my account number in the transaction details. Thanks everyone for the help!
0 coins
Arjun Patel
•Glad you found it without having to call Washington ESD!
0 coins
Yara Campbell
•Great news! Save that info somewhere safe for next time.
0 coins
Jay Lincoln
That's such a relief that you found it! I'm actually going through the exact same thing right now - trying to track down my business unemployment account number for a contractor application. I've been putting off dealing with it because I was dreading having to call Washington ESD. Definitely going to check my bank statements first based on your success story. Thanks for sharing the update!
0 coins
Liam McGuire
•@Jay Lincoln I m'dealing with this same issue right now for my small painting business! One thing I haven t'seen mentioned yet is checking your old email confirmations from when you first set up direct deposit for employee paychecks - banks usually require your Washington ESD account number for payroll compliance and sometimes include it in their setup confirmation emails. Also, if you use any project management software like Monday.com or Asana for tracking employee hours, they sometimes store tax ID numbers in the business profile settings. Another place to look is any old correspondence about business license renewals - the city or county sometimes references your unemployment insurance status and account number in their renewal paperwork. I m'going to try all these suggestions myself before resorting to calling Washington ESD. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences!
0 coins