Can unemployment be extended - Washington ESD benefit duration questions

Regular unemployment benefits in Washington are typically 26 weeks maximum. There used to be federal extensions during the pandemic but those ended in 2021. The main extension program now is Extended Benefits (EB) which only kicks in when unemployment rates are really high statewide. Right now Washington's unemployment rate doesn't qualify for EB.

You should check your remaining benefit balance in your Washington ESD account. Some people get confused about weeks vs. dollar amounts. If you still have a balance but are running out of weeks, you might qualify for a few more weeks depending on your situation.

I was in a similar situation last year and had to call Washington ESD to get clarification on my benefit year. Took me forever to get through to someone though. The phone system is absolutely terrible - I probably called 200+ times over two weeks.

Another thing to consider is whether you might qualify for a new benefit year. If you worked enough after filing your original claim, you might be able to file a new claim when your current one expires. But you'd need to meet the earnings requirements again.

This is so frustrating! The government just cuts people off after 26 weeks like we're supposed to magically find jobs. Some industries are still struggling and good jobs are hard to find.

Have you been keeping up with your job search requirements? Sometimes people focus so much on benefit duration they forget about the weekly requirements. You need to be making at least 3 job contacts per week and keeping your job search log updated.

I went through this exact situation 6 months ago. No extensions were available and I had to transition to other assistance programs. Look into SNAP benefits and local food banks now rather than waiting until your UI runs out.

Question - if Extended Benefits do get triggered later this year, would people who already exhausted their regular benefits be able to get them? Or do you have to be currently collecting when EB starts?

Going back to the calling situation - I ended up using Claimyr again last month for a different issue and it worked great. They got me connected to a Washington ESD agent in about 30 minutes instead of me spending all day calling.

I'm in the same boat and it's stressing me out so much. Been looking for work for months and nothing. What are we supposed to do if benefits run out?

One more thing to check - make sure you understand your benefit year end date vs. when your benefits will be exhausted. These are two different dates and it affects your options. Your benefit year is 52 weeks from when you first filed.

The whole system is broken. 26 weeks isn't enough time to find decent employment, especially in specialized fields. But Congress doesn't seem to care about extending benefits anymore.

Check if your county has any local assistance programs too. Some counties have emergency rent/utility assistance even if you don't qualify for other state programs.

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I had issues with my claim being stuck in adjudication. Really helped me get through to someone at Washington ESD who could actually resolve my problem instead of just giving me the runaround.