How does Washington ESD decide how much unemployment you get?

So they only look at my best quarter? Not the whole year?

Exactly. Just your highest earning quarter in the base period. The base period is usually the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed.

You're right about the minimum requirements. You need at least $1,320 in your highest quarter AND total base period earnings of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter amount.

Thanks for clarifying! The Washington ESD rules are so complicated.

How much does that cost? I'm already strapped for cash waiting for my benefits.

It's worth checking out their site for pricing info. For me, it was worth it to finally get answers instead of calling Washington ESD for hours with no luck.

Close but not quite right. It's ($15,000 ÷ 26) × 0.038 = $21.92 per week. But that seems really low, so double-check your math or there might be other factors.

oh man I think I calculated wrong somewhere. let me look at my wage history again

Remember it's based on your quarterly earnings, not your annual salary. If you got a raise recently or had a bonus, that might not be reflected in your base period quarters.

That makes sense. I got promoted in December so those higher wages wouldn't count yet.

Yes, overtime counts as regular wages for benefit calculations. It's all part of your total quarterly earnings reported by your employer.

Good to know! That should help my benefit amount then.

The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed your claim. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at July-September 2024, April-June 2024, January-March 2024, and October-December 2023.

Wow that's way more complicated than I thought. Thanks for explaining it!

How long did it take you to get through? I've been trying to call for days.

I got lucky and called right at 8am when they opened. Only waited about 20 minutes.

I'm desperate at this point. Been trying to get through for two weeks about my benefit amount.

Definitely worth a shot then. The video demo on their site shows exactly how it works.

So even if someone made like $200,000 in a quarter they'd still only get $929 per week max?

Exactly right. The maximum weekly benefit is capped regardless of how much you earned.

I think most states have similar complexity, we just don't realize it until we need to use the system.

Fair point. I just wish they explained it better on the website.

Your weekly benefit amount stays the same, but if you work part-time and earn more than $5 per week, they'll reduce your benefit payment dollar-for-dollar after that $5 disregard.

Got it, so the base amount doesn't change but the actual payment might be less.

There actually is a benefit calculator on the Washington ESD website, but it's buried pretty deep in the site navigation.

Really? I'll have to look for that. Thanks!

Commission income counts as wages as long as it was reported on your W-2 or 1099. It gets included in your quarterly earnings just like regular salary.

Perfect, that should help my benefit amount since I had some good commission quarters.

Definitely! This was super helpful. Bookmarking this thread for future reference.

Glad we could help explain it. The Washington ESD system is confusing but once you understand the basics it makes more sense.

Yes, there's a minimum weekly benefit of $295 in Washington for 2025. So even if your calculation comes out lower, you'd still get at least $295 per week.

That's good to know! Thanks for all the detailed info.

I actually tried Claimyr last week and it worked great. Finally got my benefit amount question answered.

That's awesome! It's such a relief when you can actually talk to someone who can help.

Same here! I'm glad I asked because now I understand how Washington ESD does the calculation.

Yeah, it's way more logical than I initially thought. Just wish they explained it better upfront.

They can recalculate if there was an error in your wage records or if additional wage information becomes available. You'd need to contact Washington ESD to request a review.

Good to know! I think there might be some missing wages on my record.

Right? Once you know the formula it makes perfect sense. Wish they just put this explanation clearly on their website.

Exactly! This forum thread is way clearer than anything on the official Washington ESD site.