How do they calculate unemployment pay in Washington ESD - confused about my benefit amount

Washington ESD uses your highest earning quarter from your base period (first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed). They take that quarter, divide by 26, then multiply by about 0.0385 to get your weekly benefit amount. There's also a minimum and maximum - right now max is $999/week.

i think theres also something about needing to make at least 680 times your weekly benefit in your base period or you dont qualify at all

I was so frustrated trying to understand my calculation that I spent hours on hold with Washington ESD. Finally found this service called Claimyr that actually got me through to an agent in like 10 minutes. The rep walked me through exactly how they calculated my benefit using my wage history. Worth checking out at claimyr.com if you're stuck on hold.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE PEOPLE AND PAY OUT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!!! I made $3800 one month and barely anything the other months but they calculated based on my highest quarter which was only like $8000. Complete BS.

Here's the exact formula Washington ESD uses: Weekly Benefit Amount = (Highest Quarter Wages ÷ 26) × 0.0385. Then they round down to the nearest dollar. Your $844 suggests your highest quarter was around $570,000 which seems high for a $52k annual salary. Double-check your monetary determination for errors.

omg same thing happened to me, thought the big number was weekly but its actually your total for the whole benefit year

That makes much more sense. $412 weekly from a $52k salary sounds about right. Remember Washington ESD replaces roughly 50% of your average weekly wages, but caps it based on that highest quarter formula.

washington esd website has a benefit calculator but its super confusing to use

This is exactly why I ended up using Claimyr to talk to someone. The online tools are useless and you can't get through on the phone normally. At least with their service I got to talk to an actual Washington ESD rep who explained everything clearly.

I've been on unemployment twice and still don't fully understand how they calculate it. First time I got $380/week, second time $445/week, even though I made less money the second time around.

Thanks everyone for the help! I think I understand now. My $412 weekly makes sense based on my income. Still seems low but at least I know how they got there.

For anyone else confused about their calculation, your monetary determination should show your base period wages by quarter. Compare that to the benefit amount and it should make more sense. If you think there's an error, you have 30 days to request a redetermination.

Still think the whole system is designed to screw workers over but whatever, at least now I know why my check is so small

One thing that caught me off guard was that Washington ESD doesn't count certain types of income in your base period calculation. Things like bonuses, commissions, and overtime can affect which quarter is your 'highest' even if your salary was consistent.

The most frustrating part is trying to plan financially when you don't know exactly what you'll get until after you file. Wish they made the calculation more transparent upfront.

Honestly if anyone is still confused after reading through this thread, just use Claimyr to get through to Washington ESD. I wasted so much time trying to figure it out myself when a 10-minute conversation with an agent cleared everything up.

One more thing - don't forget that unemployment benefits are taxable income. So whatever weekly amount you get, you'll owe taxes on it later unless you have them withhold it upfront.

This thread was super helpful, thank you all! I was getting stressed about my benefit amount but now I understand the logic behind it.

Just to wrap up - the key things to remember about Washington ESD benefit calculations: they use your highest quarter from the base period, apply a rate based on your total earnings, cap it at the maximum ($999 currently), and the result determines both your weekly amount and total benefit year eligibility.

glad this thread exists, saved me from spending my whole day trying to figure this out myself