ESD shows weekly benefit amount but all claims stuck as $0 pending - eligibility confusion

That's actually quite normal in the ESD process, even though it's super confusing. The system calculates your potential WBA based on your work history, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're fully approved yet. They're likely still in the verification/adjudication phase where they confirm details with your former employer or check other eligibility factors. The $0 pending status will remain until they complete that process. Have you received any correspondence in your ESD account inbox? Sometimes there are letters requesting additional information that need your response.

omg same thing happening 2 me right now!! been 4 weeks with the stupid $0 pending thing. called esd like 30 times and can never get thru. this is a JOKE

This is exactly why the unemployment system needs a complete overhaul!! They design these confusing systems ON PURPOSE to discourage people from collecting benefits they're ENTITLED to. I went through this in January - they showed a benefit amount but kept me pending for SEVEN WEEKS before finally approving and paying everything retroactively. No explanation, no apology, nothing. Just suddenly money appeared. The whole system is designed to frustrate us into giving up.

This happened to me too! I was in exactly this situation for about 5 weeks. Here's what I learned: The WBA showing up means your wages qualify you for *that amount* IF you're deemed eligible. But there are other eligibility factors they're still evaluating - like reason for separation, able and available status, job search compliance, etc. What ended up happening in my case was that my former employer contested my claim (I didn't even know this until later). Once ESD completed their investigation, they approved me and paid all backdated weeks at once. A few tips: 1. Keep filing your weekly claims no matter what 2. Double-check your Notices/Letters tab, not just inbox 3. Make sure you're completing and documenting your 3 job search activities each week 4. If it goes beyond 4-5 weeks, try contacting your state representative's office - they can sometimes help expedite Good luck! The waiting is awful but keep at it.

you do know you have to do those job search activities every week right? if you didnt do that theyll deny you no matter what the wba says

To answer your follow-up question - once I was approved, they automatically paid all the weekly claims I had filed while waiting. Just make sure you're answering all the weekly claim questions accurately. One mistake that trips people up is the "able and available" question - if you say you weren't available for work during any day of the week (like if you were sick or out of town), they may reduce or deny payment for that week.

my benfit amount showed for like 2 month before i got paid!!!! its crazy how long it takes but dont give up

hey @profile1 thx for the claimyr tip! just tried it and got through to ESD in like 25 min after trying for WEEKS on my own!! agent said my claim was stuck in identity verification and she fixed it on the spot!

One thing to add - check your spam folder for emails from ESD. Sometimes they send requests for additional information through email as well as your ESD account, and those emails frequently get filtered as spam. Missing a request for information can significantly delay your claim processing.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Been waiting 4 weeks with a WBA showing but $0 pending on all my claims. Reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and terrifying - sounds like this is unfortunately normal but the wait times are all over the place. I'm going to try that Claimyr service that @Charity mentioned since calling ESD directly seems impossible. Also going to double-check my spam folder and the Notices tab like others suggested. It's so frustrating that they show you a benefit amount but then make you wait indefinitely to actually get it. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least I know I'm not alone in this mess!

I've been dealing with this exact same issue for about 6 weeks now! My WBA has been showing the whole time but every single weekly claim is stuck at $0 pending. What's really frustrating is that I called my former employer directly and they said they never received any request from ESD to verify my employment or contest my claim. So I have no idea what's actually causing the delay. I've tried calling ESD probably 50+ times and can never get through. Based on everyone's advice here, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr and also check my spam folder more carefully. It's such a relief to see I'm not the only one going through this nightmare! The financial stress of waiting with no communication is just awful.

I'm in the exact same boat as everyone here! Week 5 now with my WBA showing but all claims stuck at $0 pending. What's really frustrating is the complete lack of communication - you'd think they could at least send an automated update saying "your claim is in review, expected timeline is X weeks" or something. Instead we're all just sitting here wondering if our claims fell into some black hole. I've been documenting everything religiously - job searches, weekly claims, checking all the folders - but still nothing. Going to try Claimyr this week since it seems to be the only way people are actually getting through to a human. It's ridiculous that we have to pay a third-party service just to talk to our own state unemployment office! Really hoping this gets resolved soon because like everyone else, bills don't stop coming just because ESD's system is broken.

Just wanted to add another data point to this thread - I'm currently in week 4 of the exact same situation! WBA has been displayed since day one, but every weekly claim shows $0 pending. What's been particularly frustrating for me is that I worked for a very large, well-known company that definitely has their systems set up to respond to unemployment claims quickly, so I doubt it's an employer verification issue on my end. I think there might be some kind of systematic backlog or processing bottleneck at ESD right now. I've been keeping meticulous records of everything (screenshots of my claims, job search activities, all correspondence) just in case. Planning to try Claimyr this week after seeing so many success stories here. It's honestly such a relief to find this thread and realize this isn't just happening to me - though obviously frustrating that so many of us are dealing with this! Will update if I make any progress getting through to an actual human at ESD.

I'm in week 6 of this exact nightmare and finally got some answers! After reading all the success stories about Claimyr here, I bit the bullet and paid for their service last Monday. Got through to an ESD agent in about 45 minutes (compared to literally hundreds of failed attempts calling directly). Turns out my claim was stuck because of an automated flag in their system that marked my separation reason as "needs review" even though I was clearly laid off due to company downsizing. The agent said this is happening to TONS of people right now because their system is flagging anything that isn't a super straightforward termination. She cleared the flag immediately and said I should see payments within 3-5 business days for all my back weeks. Sure enough, got my first payment yesterday! My advice: if you've been waiting more than 4 weeks, just use Claimyr. Yes it costs money, but 45 minutes vs. months of uncertainty was absolutely worth it. The agent also mentioned they're working on system improvements but didn't give any timeline for when these automatic delays might be resolved.