Base year quarters for ESD unemployment calculation - how far back do they look?
Can someone explain how ESD determines which quarters they use for calculating my benefit amount? I lost my job last month and I'm trying to figure out what my weekly benefit might be. I've heard they look at the last 5 quarters but skip the most recent one? Is that right? And what if my highest earning quarters were more than a year ago - do those still count? I was making way more money back in 2023 than I was recently. Just trying to get my finances in order while I search for a new position.
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Zoe Gonzalez
They use what's called your 'base year' - it's the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. So yeah, they do skip the most recent completed quarter. If you filed in May 2025, they'd look at January 2024 through December 2024. For each quarter, they look at all wages reported by employers who paid unemployment taxes. Your weekly benefit amount is then calculated using your highest two quarters during the base year. If your highest earnings were in 2023, they won't count if you're filing now in 2025.
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Avery Flores
•Thanks for explaining! So if I applied in late April instead of May, would that change which quarters they'd look at? Could that actually get me a higher benefit amount based on my 2023 earnings?
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Ashley Adams
ur math is wrong dude they look at 12-18 months back not a hole 2 years lol
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Zoe Gonzalez
•No, I'm actually correct. It's the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters. Calendar quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. This is directly from ESD's website.
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Alexis Robinson
You can also use an "alternate base year" in some cases which is the last 4 completed calendar quarters. But you have to specifically request this if your regular base year doesn't qualify you for benefits or gives you a really low amount. ESD won't automatically check this for you - you have to ask them to look at your alternate base year. This might help if your best quarters were more recent.
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Avery Flores
•Oh that's really good to know! How do I request they look at my alternate base year? Is that something I can select when I file online or do I need to call them?
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Aaron Lee
THEY MAKE IT COMPLICATED ON PURPOSE so people don't get the full benefits they deserve!!!! I had to fight for MONTHS to get them to use my correct wages after they somehow "lost" an entire quarter of my earnings. Of course that was my highest paying quarter too! And trying to get anyone on the phone was IMPOSSIBLE - busy signals for DAYS.
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Chloe Mitchell
•I had the exact same issue with them missing one of my jobs! When I finally got through, they said my employer hadn't reported properly. But yeah took me 3 weeks of constant calling to reach someone.
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Michael Adams
If you're trying to reach ESD about base year questions or missing wages, I recommend using Claimyr. I spent two weeks trying to get through on my own with no luck, then used their service and got connected to an ESD agent in about 25 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. It saved me so much frustration when I was dealing with some missing wages from an out-of-state employer that weren't showing up in my benefit calculation.
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Avery Flores
•Thanks for the tip! I might need this if I run into issues. Did you have to provide any additional documentation when asking them to include missing wages?
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Natalie Wang
jst a tip, make sure u print ur wage report when they send it to u becuz i didnt and then i noticed they missed like $4000 from one job and by the time i called to fix it was too late, had to struggle with smaller payments then i shoulda got
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Zoe Gonzalez
•Great advice. You have 30 days from when they send your monetary determination to appeal if you think there are missing wages or other issues with your benefit calculation.
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Avery Flores
Update: I went ahead and applied yesterday. My monetary determination showed they used Q1-Q4 2024 as my base year. I'm actually ok with the benefit amount they calculated. Thanks for helping me understand how it works everyone!
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Alexis Robinson
•Glad to hear it worked out for you! Just make sure you keep up with your weekly claims and job search activities (3 per week). That's where most people run into issues.
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