How do I contact Washington ESD unemployment office - phone number keeps hanging up

I tried the messaging system but haven't heard back in over a week. How long did it take them to respond to you?

About 10 business days for me, and that was just a generic response telling me to keep filing my weekly claims.

For appeals you actually need to file the written appeal first, you can't just call about it. The form is on the Washington ESD website under appeals section.

oh really? i didnt know that thanks

Is that legit? How much does it cost? I'm desperate at this point.

Yeah it's real. I can't remember the exact cost but it was worth it to finally talk to someone. Way better than spending hours calling and getting nowhere.

I've heard mixed things about third party services. Did they actually help resolve your issue or just get you on the phone?

They got me connected to an actual Washington ESD agent who was able to look at my claim and explain what was happening with my adjudication. Saved me weeks of frustration.

Thank you! I didn't know there were different numbers. I've been calling the wrong one this whole time.

That number still doesn't work half the time. The hold music plays for like 30 minutes then just hangs up on you.

True, but it's still your best bet during those morning hours. The system can only handle so many calls at once.

I feel your pain. The staffing shortage is real and they're still dealing with the backlog from the past few years.

That's not an excuse for having a completely broken phone system. Other states figured this out.

I didn't think of that. Do they actually help with unemployment issues?

Yes, constituent services can sometimes help with state agency issues. Worth a shot if you're really stuck.

My cousin tried that route and it took 3 weeks just to get a response from the rep's office. Better than nothing though.

Have you checked your account for any pending issues? Sometimes there are ID verification or job separation issues that need to be resolved.

Yeah I've checked everything a million times. No pending issues showing up anywhere.

That's exactly the kind of situation where Claimyr helped me. The agent was able to see things in the system that don't show up in my online account.

Good tip, I'll try that today. Anything is worth a shot at this point.

lunch time worked for me once but took 45 minutes on hold

WorkSource can help with some basic questions but they can't access your claim details or make changes. They're more for job search assistance.

Ah ok, that's what I figured. Thanks for clarifying.

How long were you on hold once you got through?

About 20 minutes which wasn't too bad. The agent was really helpful once I finally got someone.

You got lucky. I tried that same strategy and still got disconnected after 2 hours.

Same here. I think that feature is just broken or they're too backlogged to actually use it.

my friend got a callback once but it was 3 weeks after she requested it lol

Which service did you use? Was it the Claimyr one mentioned earlier?

Yes that's the one. They got me through in about 3 hours which was way better than the weeks I spent trying on my own.

Good point. I should write everything down before I try calling again.

Yes! And have your last employer's information handy too. They ask about that a lot.

Agreed. Other states have figured out how to handle high call volumes without making people wait weeks to talk to someone.

Exactly. This is supposed to be a safety net, not an obstacle course.

That's awesome! Fingers crossed you get through. Let us know what they say about adjudication issues.

Good luck! Hope you don't get disconnected while on hold.