ESD weekly benefit amount calculation with $1600 monthly income - what should I expect?

I was making almost exactly that amount ($1650/month) at my retail job before getting laid off in January. My weekly benefit amount is $230. ESD calculates your benefit based on your highest-earning quarters during your base year, not just your most recent job. They use about 60-65% of your average weekly wage up to the maximum benefit amount. For tips - if they were reported on your W-2 (meaning you paid taxes on them), they count toward your benefit calculation. If they were cash tips you didn't report, ESD won't know about them and they won't count.

when i was gettin like 1550 a month at warehouse job i got 212 per week from esd. not great but better than nothing lol. make sure u do ur weekly claims right or theyll make u pay it back!!

I WAS GETTING $1575 MONTHLY AT MY JOB AND ESD ONLY GAVE ME $198 A WEEK!!! IT VARIES SO MUCH I THINK THEY JUST MAKE UP RANDOM NUMBERS TBH. My friend worked at same place making same $ and got $240?? Make NO SENSE. And took them 5 WEEKS to approve my claim while I couldn't pay rent!!

According to ESD's formula, if you earned around $1600/month consistently, your weekly benefit amount should be approximately $208-$237, depending on your exact earnings and how long you worked at that wage. The formula is roughly: 3.85% of your total base year wages, divided by the number of weeks in your highest quarters. Your base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you applied. For tips: only reported tips (those on your W-2 or that you paid taxes on) count toward your benefit calculation. If you worked at that wage for the full base year, you should get around the amounts others have mentioned here.

Have you been able to talk to an ESD agent directly? I was in a similar situation with tip income and was confused about my benefit amount calculation. I spent days trying to get through to ESD on the phone with no luck. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to help get through to an ESD agent quickly. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 The agent was able to look at my specific earnings and explain exactly how my benefit amount was calculated, including how my reported tips factored in. Really helped me understand what to expect.

i got laid off from my job where i made about the same as you last year and my weekly benefit was like $225ish i think but then they took out taxes cuz i chose to have them withhold it so actually got less than that in my account each week just fyi

One important thing to remember is that your weekly benefit amount is based on your highest-earning quarters during the base year, not your most recent job. So if you earned more at a different job earlier in your base year, your WBA might be higher than you're expecting based on the $1600/month. Also, don't forget about the job search requirements! You need to document at least 3 job search activities each week to remain eligible. This can include applying for jobs, attending interviews, creating profiles on job sites, or attending WorkSource workshops. Keep detailed records of all your job search activities.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! Sounds like I can expect around $210-$230 weekly based on my income history. I'm definitely going to be careful about reporting everything correctly on my weekly claims and keeping good records of my job search activities. One more question - how long did most of you wait between applying and actually receiving your first payment? I'm trying to figure out how long my savings need to stretch.

My cousin was making around $1600 monthly and I think he got about $225 weekly when he was on unemployment last year. But more importantly, don't forget that you'll also qualify for the EBT food benefits while on unemployment which helps a lot with groceries. You should apply for that right away too!