How do I call unemployment office in Washington - need help getting through

The main Washington ESD customer service line is (800) 318-6022. Best times to call are Tuesday-Thursday between 8-10am. Avoid Mondays and Fridays if possible since those are the busiest days. You can also try the tech support line at (855) 682-0785 if your issue is related to your online account.

try calling right at 8am when they open, sometimes i get through but usually just get disconnected after waiting for hours

I had the same problem with my pending claim. Ended up using this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to Washington ESD. They basically keep calling for you until they reach an agent, then connect you. Saved me so much time vs trying to call myself. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

You can also try reaching out through the Washington ESD website contact form, but response times are usually 5-7 business days. For urgent issues like pending claims, calling is still your best bet even though it's frustrating.

THE PHONE SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN! I've been trying for a MONTH to get through about my disqualification and it's impossible. How are people supposed to get help when you literally cannot reach anyone??

Have you tried calling the WorkSource office in your area? They sometimes can help with unemployment questions or at least point you in the right direction.

Just went through this same thing last month. Spent literally hours every day trying to call. Finally got through using that Claimyr service someone mentioned. It's totally worth it - they got me connected to an agent in like 20 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own.

I keep a phone log of all my call attempts. So far I'm at 47 attempts over 3 weeks with only 2 times I actually got put on hold (both times got disconnected after 2+ hours). The system is completely overwhelmed.

pro tip: when you do get through to the hold queue, don't hang up even if you've been waiting for hours. I hung up after 3 hours once and regretted it immediately

My cousin works at Washington ESD and she says they're understaffed and getting thousands of calls per day. The agents are doing their best but there just aren't enough of them to handle the volume.

I was skeptical about using Claimyr at first but honestly it saved my sanity. After weeks of trying to call myself, they got me through to an agent who helped me understand why my claim was in adjudication. Worth every penny.

Try calling at exactly 12:01pm during lunch hour sometimes they have fewer calls then

The whole situation with Washington ESD phone lines is a nightmare. I've been dealing with unemployment claims for 15 years and it's never been this bad. Back in 2010 I could actually get through to someone within 30 minutes. Now it's basically impossible.

Same boat here, been trying for weeks. My claim shows 'under review' and I have no idea what that means or how long it takes

Have you tried calling the claims center directly? Sometimes they have different wait times than the main customer service line.

I gave up trying to call and just kept filing my weekly claims. Eventually my pending claim got approved automatically after about 6 weeks. Sometimes patience is the only option.

Just want to echo what others have said about Claimyr - it really does work. I was hesitant at first but after wasting so much time trying to call myself, it was worth it to get connected quickly. The agent I spoke with was able to explain exactly what was happening with my claim and what I needed to do next.

Update us when you get through! I'm curious to hear how it goes.

I'm in the exact same situation! Been trying to call Washington ESD for over a month about my pending claim and it's absolutely impossible. The main number either gives a busy signal or I wait for hours just to get disconnected. I've tried calling at different times of day, different days of the week - nothing works. It's so frustrating when you need help and there's literally no way to reach anyone. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like Claimyr might be the only realistic option at this point. Has anyone had any luck with other methods or is the phone system just completely broken?

I feel everyone's pain here! I've been dealing with the same nightmare trying to reach Washington ESD. After reading through all these comments, I decided to try a few different approaches. First, I kept a detailed log like @3bf74227d717 suggested - I'm now at 32 failed attempts over 2.5 weeks. I also tried the WorkSource suggestion from @704829578198 but they could only give general info, not help with my specific pending claim. Finally broke down and used Claimyr after seeing so many positive reviews here. They got me connected to an agent in about 45 minutes, and turns out my claim was flagged for a simple address verification issue that the agent cleared up immediately. Would have saved me weeks of stress if I'd known about it sooner. For anyone still struggling - the service does cost money but honestly it was worth it to finally get answers and move forward with my claim.

I'm going through the exact same frustrating experience! Been trying to reach Washington ESD for 3 weeks about my pending claim and it's like they don't exist. I've called the main number (800) 318-6022 dozens of times at all different hours - early morning, lunch time, late afternoon - and either get busy signals or sit on hold for 2+ hours just to get disconnected. My claim status just says "pending" with zero explanation of what's wrong or how long it might take. It's incredibly stressful not knowing if there's an issue I need to fix or if I just have to wait it out. After reading everyone's experiences here, I'm seriously considering trying Claimyr since the traditional methods clearly aren't working for anyone. This whole situation is unacceptable - people need their benefits to survive and shouldn't have to jump through these kinds of hoops just to get basic information about their claims.

I've been following this thread and dealing with the exact same issue - trying to reach Washington ESD for over 3 weeks about my pending claim with zero success. The phone system is completely broken. After reading all these positive experiences with Claimyr, I finally decided to try it yesterday and I'm so glad I did! They got me connected to an actual ESD agent in about 30 minutes (compared to the weeks I wasted trying on my own). Turns out my claim was stuck because I had moved recently and they needed me to verify my new address - literally a 2-minute fix once I could talk to someone. The agent was super helpful and my payments were released the same day. I was skeptical about paying for the service at first, but honestly it saved me so much time and stress. For anyone still struggling with the regular phone lines, I'd definitely recommend giving Claimyr a shot. Sometimes you just need to accept that the system is broken and find an alternative that actually works.

I'm dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for almost 3 weeks now about my pending claim and it's absolutely impossible. The main number is either busy or I get disconnected after waiting for hours. What's really getting to me is not knowing WHY my claim is pending - there's no explanation online, just a vague "pending" status that doesn't tell me if I need to submit additional documents or if it's just a waiting game. After reading through everyone's experiences here, it's clear the phone system is completely overwhelmed and broken. I'm seriously considering trying Claimyr since so many people here have had success with it. It's frustrating that we have to pay a third-party service just to access our own benefits, but at this point I'm desperate for answers. Has anyone found any other workarounds or is Claimyr really the only reliable way to get through these days?

I'm going through the exact same nightmare! Been trying to call Washington ESD for over 2 weeks about my pending claim and it's completely impossible. I've tried calling at 8am when they open, during lunch hours, different days of the week - nothing works. Either busy signals or I sit on hold for hours just to get disconnected. My claim has been pending for almost a month now with zero explanation of what's wrong or what I need to do. It's incredibly stressful not knowing if there's a simple issue I could fix if I could just talk to someone. After reading everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the regular phone system is totally broken and Claimyr might be the only realistic option. I hate that we have to pay a third-party service to access our own unemployment benefits, but I'm getting desperate for answers. Has anyone who used Claimyr found out their issue was something simple that could have been resolved weeks ago if the phone system actually worked?

I'm experiencing the exact same frustrating situation! I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for over 2 weeks about my pending claim and it's absolutely impossible. The main number (800) 318-6022 is either constantly busy or I'll wait on hold for 3+ hours just to get automatically disconnected. My claim status just shows "pending" with no explanation whatsoever - no indication if I need to submit documents, verify information, or just wait it out. It's incredibly stressful not knowing what's wrong or how long this might take, especially when you're depending on these benefits. After reading through everyone's experiences here, it's clear this is a widespread systemic problem with Washington ESD's phone system being completely overwhelmed. I'm seriously considering trying Claimyr based on all the success stories shared here. While I hate the idea of paying a third-party service for what should be basic access to government services, it seems like it might be the only realistic way to actually speak with someone and get answers about my claim.

I'm dealing with this exact same problem! Been trying to call Washington ESD for 3 weeks straight about my pending claim and it's like they don't even exist. I've tried every piece of advice in this thread - calling at 8am sharp, trying different times of day, even attempted the lunch hour suggestion. Nothing works. Either immediate busy signals or I'll sit on hold for literally 4+ hours just to get disconnected right when I think I'm getting somewhere. My claim has been stuck on "pending" for over a month now with absolutely zero explanation of what's wrong or what I need to do to fix it. The stress of not knowing if there's a simple issue I could resolve immediately if I could just talk to someone is eating me alive. Based on all the success stories here, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and try Claimyr too. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to pay a third-party service to access our own government benefits, but when the official system is this broken, what choice do we have? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least I know I'm not going crazy and this really is an impossible situation for everyone.