How do you know if unemployment is approved in Washington ESD?

You should receive a determination letter either by mail or in your eServices account. Once approved, you'll see your weekly benefit amount listed and be able to file weekly claims. Check your account for any pending issues under the 'claim status' section.

mine took like 2 weeks to get approved, kept checking every day lol. you'll know when you can actually file your first weekly claim

Look for these key indicators in your eServices account: 1) Weekly benefit amount shows a dollar figure (not $0.00), 2) No pending adjudication issues, 3) Claim status shows 'Valid' or 'Active', 4) You receive a monetary determination. If you're stuck trying to get through to Washington ESD to check your status, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me reach an agent quickly. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

The system is so confusing! I thought I was approved but then got a letter saying I needed to provide more information. Make sure you don't have any outstanding requests for documentation.

Check your mail too, not just online. Sometimes the official approval comes by regular mail first.

Also worth noting - even if you're approved, your first payment might take an additional week due to the waiting period. Don't panic if you don't see money immediately.

honestly the whole system is a mess, took me forever to figure out if i was approved or not. kept getting different answers from different people

To add to what others said about calling - if you do need to speak with Washington ESD directly, the traditional advice of calling right at 8am doesn't work anymore due to high volume. That's exactly why services like Claimyr exist. They handle the repetitive calling so you don't have to sit there redialing all day.

Update: I just checked again and now I can see the option to file a weekly claim! I think that means I'm approved?

For future reference, you can also check your payment history in eServices to see if any payments have been issued. That's another way to confirm approval.

The notifications are hit or miss. I never got an email notification but the letter came in the mail about a week later.

Make sure you understand the job search requirements once you're approved. You'll need to log your job search activities.

The job search requirement is 3 activities per week for most claimants. This includes applying for jobs, attending job fairs, networking events, etc.

They do random audits of job search logs, so keep good records. I got audited and had to provide proof of my job applications.

Congrats on getting approved! The hard part is over, now it's just filing weekly and job searching.

Pro tip: set up direct deposit if you haven't already. Debit cards can have issues sometimes.

Just remember to file your weekly claims on time. If you miss the deadline, you might lose that week's benefits.

One last thing - if you ever run into issues or need to speak with Washington ESD about your claim, remember that Claimyr option I mentioned earlier. It saved me hours of calling when I had a problem with my weekly claim.

Welcome to the unemployment club! Hope you find work soon but at least you have some support while you're looking.

This whole thread should be pinned, lots of good info here for people waiting on approval.