How do I contact Washington ESD unemployment office - phone numbers not working?

The main Washington ESD customer service number is 800-318-6022, but you're right that it's nearly impossible to get through. Best times to call are usually right when they open at 8am or during lunch around noon.

There are a few different Washington ESD phone numbers depending on what you need help with. For general UI claims it's 800-318-6022. For employer questions it's 360-902-9500. There's also the technical support line at 855-682-0785 if you're having website issues with your SecureAccess Washington account.

I was having the same problem trying to reach Washington ESD about my adjudication that's been pending for weeks. Someone told me about this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to unemployment offices. I tried it and actually got connected to an agent in like 10 minutes. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ

The Washington ESD phone system is absolutely broken. I've been calling for 2 weeks straight about my disqualification notice and can't get through to anyone. This is ridiculous - how are we supposed to resolve issues if we can't even talk to a human?

try calling the Olympia office directly at 360-902-9500 sometimes they can help or transfer you

You can also send messages through your SecureAccess Washington account, but be warned - response times are typically 7-10 business days right now. For urgent issues like missed weekly claims or adjudication problems, calling is really your best bet.

Does anyone know if there are specific hours when the phone lines are less busy? I work during the day so I can only call evenings or weekends.

I second the Claimyr recommendation. Used it twice now when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD on my own. First time was for a pending adjudication issue, second time was about my standby status. Both times got connected to an agent quickly.

The phone system has been terrible since COVID. They really need to hire more staff or fix their system. I spent 6 hours total last week trying to get through about my overpayment notice.

keep hitting redial, thats what finally worked for me after like 40 tries

If your issue is related to job search requirements, you might also be able to get help from your local WorkSource office. They can sometimes assist with Washington ESD issues or at least point you in the right direction.

Has anyone tried showing up in person at a Washington ESD office? I'm wondering if that's more effective than calling.

I've been dealing with this for months. My claim has been in adjudication since December and I can't get anyone to tell me what's going on. The whole system is broken.

Try calling the automated system at 800-318-6022 and pressing different option combinations. Sometimes you can get transferred to a human that way instead of waiting in the main queue.

The Washington ESD phone situation is a nightmare. I literally took a vacation day from work just to spend it calling them. Finally got through around 2pm after starting at 8am.

if you're just checking your claim status you can do that online without calling

For what it's worth, the Washington ESD agents are usually pretty helpful once you actually get connected. The problem is just getting through to them in the first place. Don't give up - you'll eventually reach someone who can help with your weekly claim issue.

Been there done that with the Washington ESD phone runaround. Best advice is to be persistent and have your claim number and Social Security number ready when you do get through. They'll need to verify your identity before they can help.

The fact that we need third-party services just to contact our own state unemployment office is ridiculous. But I'm grateful services like Claimyr exist because the alternative is spending days trying to get through.

Update: I finally got through this morning after trying for 2 weeks! Got connected around 10:30am and the agent was able to fix my weekly claim issue in about 10 minutes. Don't give up everyone!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My claim has been under review for 3 weeks now and every time I call that 800-318-6022 number I either get a busy signal or sit on hold for hours before getting disconnected. It's so frustrating when you need benefits to pay rent and bills. I've tried calling at different times of day but nothing seems to work. Has anyone had luck with contacting their local representatives about this? Maybe if enough people complain they'll actually fix the phone system.

I'm having the exact same problem as you, Natasha! I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for almost two weeks about my claim that suddenly went into "under review" status. The phone system is absolutely broken - I've tried calling at 8am sharp, during lunch, and even tried that redial strategy people mention, but nothing works. I actually contacted my state representative's office yesterday to file a complaint about the phone system. They said they've been getting tons of calls about this issue and are working on getting answers from ESD about why their customer service is so inaccessible. Maybe if more of us reach out to our representatives they'll put more pressure on the department to fix this mess. In the meantime, I'm going to try that Claimyr service people are mentioning - at this point I'm willing to try anything to actually talk to a human being!

I'm in the same boat - been trying to get through to Washington ESD for over a week about my claim status and it's incredibly frustrating. The phone system seems completely overwhelmed. I've tried calling right at 8am, during lunch, and even the redial strategy but keep getting disconnected or busy signals. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like Claimyr might be worth trying - I'm going to check that out today. It's ridiculous that we need third-party services just to contact our own state unemployment office, but if it actually works I'm willing to give it a shot. Has anyone else had recent success with any of the alternative phone numbers mentioned? I'm desperate to get some answers about why my weekly claim is flagged.

I've been dealing with this exact same issue for the past month! My claim got flagged for "identity verification" and I've been calling that 800-318-6022 number every single day with no luck. The automated system either gives me a busy signal or puts me on hold for 3+ hours before disconnecting. I even tried calling the Olympia office number someone mentioned but got the same runaround. After reading all these comments about Claimyr, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and try it tomorrow. It's frustrating that we have to use a third-party service just to reach our own state unemployment office, but if it actually gets me connected to a human who can resolve my flagged claim, it'll be worth it. This whole situation is making it impossible to get the benefits I need while I'm job searching. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least I know I'm not alone in this nightmare!

I'm having the exact same frustrating experience! I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for over two weeks about my claim that suddenly went into "pending" status. The 800-318-6022 number is completely useless - I either get a busy signal immediately or sit on hold for hours just to get disconnected. I've tried calling right at 8am when they open, during lunch breaks, and even the rapid redial method, but nothing works. It's incredibly stressful when you're depending on these benefits to cover basic expenses. Based on all the positive feedback in this thread, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr tomorrow. It shouldn't be necessary to use a third-party service just to contact our own state unemployment office, but if it actually gets me through to someone who can explain why my claim is stuck, I'm willing to give it a shot. This whole system desperately needs fixing!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My weekly claim has been stuck in "under review" status for almost 3 weeks now and I can't get through to anyone at Washington ESD no matter what I try. I've called that 800-318-6022 number probably 100+ times using every strategy mentioned here - calling right at 8am, hitting redial constantly, trying during lunch - but I either get busy signals or sit on hold for hours before getting cut off. It's so stressful when you're counting on these benefits to pay rent and groceries. After reading all the success stories with Claimyr in this thread, I think I'm going to have to try that service too. It's absolutely ridiculous that we need to use a third-party company just to reach our own state unemployment office, but at this point I'm desperate. The whole ESD phone system is completely broken and they clearly don't have enough staff to handle the call volume. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least I know this isn't just happening to me!

I'm going through the exact same nightmare! Been trying to reach Washington ESD for 10 days straight about my claim that got stuck in "adjudication pending" status. The 800-318-6022 number is absolutely useless - I've probably called 200+ times at this point. Even tried that trick of pressing different menu options but still can't get through to a human. After reading everyone's experiences here, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr tomorrow morning. It's crazy that we have to resort to paying a third-party service just to contact our own state office, but when you're behind on rent and utilities, you do what you have to do. The Washington ESD phone system is completely broken and it's causing real hardship for people who desperately need these benefits. Thanks for posting this question - it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one dealing with this frustrating situation!

I feel your pain! I've been dealing with Washington ESD for 3 months trying to resolve an overpayment issue and the phone situation is absolutely broken. I've tried every strategy mentioned here - calling at 8am sharp, the redial method, different menu options - nothing works consistently. What finally helped me was using Claimyr last week. I was skeptical about paying for a service just to reach my own state office, but it worked exactly as advertised. Got connected to an ESD agent in about 15 minutes and was able to get my overpayment sorted out. The agent was actually very helpful once I got through - the problem really is just their overwhelmed phone system. For anyone on the fence about trying Claimyr, I'd say go for it if you've been stuck for weeks like I was. Sometimes you have to spend a little to save a lot of time and stress.

I'm experiencing the exact same issue! Been trying to reach Washington ESD for over a week about my claim that suddenly went into "under review" status and it's incredibly frustrating. I've tried calling 800-318-6022 at every time of day - right at 8am opening, during lunch, even the constant redial method - but I either get busy signals or sit on hold for 3+ hours just to get disconnected. It's really stressing me out because I need these benefits to cover my rent and basic expenses while job hunting. After reading through all these comments, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr tomorrow morning. It seems like multiple people have had real success with it when the regular phone system completely fails. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to use a third-party service just to contact our own state unemployment office, but when you're desperate for answers about your claim, you'll try anything. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's somewhat reassuring to know this phone system nightmare isn't just happening to me!

I've been in the exact same situation for the past two weeks! My weekly claim got flagged out of nowhere and I've been calling that 800-318-6022 number every single day with absolutely no luck. Either I get a busy signal immediately or I'm put on hold for hours just to get disconnected right when I think I might actually get through to someone. It's beyond frustrating when you're depending on these benefits to pay bills and rent. After reading through all these success stories about Claimyr, I'm definitely going to give it a try tomorrow morning. It's honestly ridiculous that we have to resort to paying a third-party service just to contact our own state unemployment office, but at this point I'm desperate for answers. The Washington ESD phone system is clearly broken and they need to either hire more staff or completely overhaul their customer service setup. Thanks for posting this question - it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not alone in this nightmare!

I'm dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! My claim has been stuck in "pending adjudication" for almost a month now and I've called that 800-318-6022 number probably 150+ times with zero success. I've tried every strategy mentioned here - calling right at 8am, the redial method, different menu combinations, even tried the Olympia office number - but nothing works. I either get busy signals or spend hours on hold just to get disconnected. It's incredibly stressful when you're behind on bills and can't get any answers about why your claim is stuck. Based on all the positive feedback about Claimyr in this thread, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and try it this week. It's absolutely insane that we need a third-party service just to reach our own state unemployment office, but when the alternative is wasting entire days getting nowhere, it seems worth trying. The whole Washington ESD phone system desperately needs an overhaul - they clearly don't have the capacity to handle the volume of people who need help. Thanks for starting this thread - it's both frustrating and reassuring to see how many of us are dealing with this broken system!

I'm going through the exact same frustrating experience! My weekly claim has been flagged for "additional review" for over 10 days now and I can't get through to anyone at Washington ESD no matter what I try. I've called that 800-318-6022 number at least 50+ times using every strategy mentioned here - calling right at 8am, hitting redial constantly, trying different menu options - but I keep getting busy signals or sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected. It's incredibly stressful when you're counting on these benefits to cover rent and groceries. After reading all the success stories about Claimyr in this thread, I think I'm going to have to try that service tomorrow. It's ridiculous that we need to pay a third-party company just to contact our own state unemployment office, but when the alternative is wasting entire days getting nowhere, it seems worth it. The whole ESD phone system is completely broken and causing real hardship for people who desperately need help. Thanks for posting this - it's both frustrating and reassuring to know so many others are dealing with this same nightmare!