Can you move to another state while on Washington ESD unemployment benefits?

Yes, you can move to another state while collecting Washington ESD benefits, but you need to report the address change immediately in your eServices account. The key is that you must still be actively seeking work and available for work. You'll continue filing your weekly claims with Washington ESD even if you're living in Oregon.

I moved from Washington to California last year while on unemployment and had no problems. Just update your address in the system and keep doing your weekly claims. The benefits come from the state where you earned the wages, not where you live.

Make sure you understand the job search requirements though. You still need to log 3 job contacts per week in WorkSourceWA, and if you're living in Oregon you might need to register with their state employment office too. I'd call Washington ESD to clarify the specific requirements for your situation.

I tried calling Washington ESD about this exact question last month and couldn't get through after trying for days. Finally used claimyr.com and got connected to an agent in under 10 minutes. They explained everything about interstate moves and benefits. Worth checking out their demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ if you're having trouble reaching them.

wait so you can just move anywhere and keep collecting? that seems weird to me. why wouldn't you have to transfer to the new state's system?

This is exactly what I needed to know too! I'm thinking about moving back to my hometown in Idaho while I'm between jobs. It's good to know I can keep my Washington benefits.

One thing to watch out for - make sure you update your address BEFORE you move, not after. I moved to Nevada and forgot to update my address for like 2 weeks and they sent me a letter asking why I wasn't responding to mail. Almost caused problems with my claim.

I'm dealing with something similar but I'm thinking about moving to Texas. Do the same rules apply for all states or are there some states that don't participate in the interstate thing?

Just want to add that you might want to consider the tax implications too. Some states don't tax unemployment benefits but others do. Oregon has state income tax so that might affect your overall financial picture.

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on how long you can be out of state? Like do you have to come back to Washington at some point during your claim?

I moved to Arizona while on unemployment and the only issue I had was figuring out how to do the work search stuff since I wasn't familiar with Arizona's job market. But I just kept using WorkSourceWA and applied to remote jobs and it worked out fine.

Word of warning - if you move make sure your new address is somewhere you can actually receive mail quickly. I moved to a place where mail delivery was really slow and almost missed some important notices from Washington ESD.

This thread is super helpful! I've been putting off a move because I thought it would mess up my benefits. Now I feel much more confident about making the decision.

Quick question - do you have to notify the new state that you're collecting unemployment from another state? Like do I need to tell Oregon that I'm getting Washington benefits?

I tried to get clarification on this from Washington ESD customer service but gave up after being on hold for literally 3 hours. Ended up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier and it was so much easier. Got all my questions answered about moving while on benefits.

For what it's worth, I moved twice while on unemployment (long story) and never had any issues. First from Washington to Montana, then from Montana to Colorado. Just kept filing my weekly claims with Washington ESD the whole time.

Make sure you have reliable internet wherever you're moving! You'll still need to file your weekly claims online and if you're in a rural area or somewhere with bad internet, that could be a problem.

This has been such a helpful thread! I feel like I understand the whole interstate unemployment thing much better now. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

One last thing - if you do move and run into any issues with your claim, document everything. Keep records of when you updated your address, copies of your job search activities, etc. Better to have too much documentation than not enough.

Thanks for asking this question OP! I'm in a similar situation and was too nervous to ask. Now I feel much more confident about making my move.