How do I calculate my unemployment benefits in Washington state?

Washington ESD uses your highest earning quarter from your base period to calculate your weekly benefit amount. Your base period is the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. So if you file in January 2025, they'd look at quarters from July 2023 through September 2024. Your weekly benefit is roughly 3.85% of your highest quarter's earnings, with a maximum of $999 per week in 2025.

i think theres an online calculator on the washington esd website somewhere but i couldnt find it when i looked last month

I had the same question when I got laid off from my warehouse job. The calculation seemed confusing at first but once you understand the base period concept it makes more sense. What really helped me was calling Washington ESD to verify my calculation, but getting through to someone took forever. I eventually used Claimyr.com to get connected to an agent who walked me through exactly how they calculated my benefit amount. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how their service works.

The Washington ESD benefit calculation is actually pretty straightforward once you get the basics. Your weekly benefit amount is based on your earnings during the base period, which consists of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. For 2025, the minimum weekly benefit is $295 and the maximum is $999. The formula is: (highest quarter earnings ÷ 26) × 0.5, but it can't exceed the maximum.

UGH this is so confusing!! Why can't they just tell you upfront how much you'll get instead of making us do math with quarters and percentages? I've been trying to figure this out for my situation and I'm getting different numbers every time I calculate it.

So for construction work like mine where my hours varied a lot, do they average out my earnings or just look at my best quarter? I had some really slow months in winter but made good money during the busy season.

just file your claim and let them calculate it for you, all this math is giving me a headache lol

One thing to keep in mind is that your benefit amount might be different if you worked in multiple states or had gaps in employment. Washington ESD will look at all your covered wages during the base period. Also remember that unemployment benefits are taxable income, so the amount you receive will be subject to federal and state taxes unless you choose to have them withheld.

The whole Washington ESD system is such a nightmare to navigate. I spent weeks trying to get someone on the phone to explain my benefit calculation because the online info was confusing. Finally found out about this Claimyr service from a friend who used it successfully. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they basically help you get through to Washington ESD agents when you can't reach them normally. Saved me so much time and frustration.

Another thing - if your earnings were really low in some quarters, Washington ESD might use an alternate base period which looks at more recent earnings. This can sometimes result in a higher benefit amount if your recent work paid better.

For what it's worth, here's a rough example: if you earned $15,000 in your highest quarter, your weekly benefit would be around $577 (15,000 × 0.0385). But remember this is just an estimate - the actual calculation includes some additional factors.

this thread is super helpful, i was confused about this too when i filed last year

Just to summarize the key points: Washington ESD looks at your base period (first 4 of last 5 completed quarters), uses your highest earning quarter for the calculation, applies their formula which results in roughly 3.85% of that quarter's earnings as your weekly benefit, subject to minimum and maximum limits. The exact amount will be calculated when you file your claim.

glad this worked out for everyone, filing for unemployment is stressful enough without having to do calculus

One final tip - make sure all your employers from the base period are listed correctly when you file. If Washington ESD is missing wage information from any employer, it could affect your benefit calculation. You can verify your wage history in your SecureAccess Washington account.

For anyone else reading this who runs into issues getting through to Washington ESD for clarification, I really recommend checking out that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person to get your questions answered properly.

Update: I filed my claim and my weekly benefit amount was almost exactly what I calculated using the 3.85% method! Thanks again everyone for explaining how this works.

This thread turned out to be a good resource for understanding Washington ESD benefit calculations. The key is understanding that base period concept and knowing they use your best quarter earnings.

Hope this helps other people in similar situations. The unemployment system can be overwhelming but once you understand the basics it gets easier to navigate.

Still think they should just have a simple calculator on their website but at least now I understand how to do the math myself

Just wanted to add something that might help others - if you're having trouble gathering all your wage information for the base period calculation, you can request a wage statement from Washington ESD before filing your claim. This shows all the wages they have on record from different employers during your base period, which can help you double-check the calculation and make sure nothing is missing. You can request it through your SecureAccess Washington account or by calling them. It's especially useful if you worked multiple jobs or had any employers who might not have reported wages correctly.