How does Washington ESD figure your unemployment pay weekly benefit amount?

Washington ESD uses your base period wages to calculate benefits. The base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. So if you filed in December 2024, they'd look at wages from July 2023 through June 2024. They take your highest earning quarter and divide by 26 to get your weekly benefit amount.

wait so if I made more money 2 years ago than recently, they'd use the older wages? that seems backwards

The calculation can be confusing because tips complicate things. If your restaurant reported your tips correctly, those count toward your base period wages. But if they were cash tips that weren't reported, Washington ESD won't know about them. You might want to check your wage statement in your online account to see what wages they have on file.

I had the same issue with getting through to Washington ESD to verify my wages. The phone lines are impossible! I discovered this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person at Washington ESD. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Made all the difference in getting my wage calculation corrected.

The maximum weekly benefit in Washington is $999 as of 2025, so your $487 sounds reasonable depending on your wages. There's also a minimum of $295. The formula is pretty straightforward once you understand the base period concept.

ugh this whole system is so confusing why cant they just use your last paycheck like normal people would think??

One thing to watch out for - if you had any gaps in employment during your base period, that can affect your calculation. Washington ESD needs to see consistent work history to qualify for the maximum benefit. Also, some jobs don't pay into unemployment insurance, like certain government positions or independent contractor work.

Does anyone know if overtime pay counts differently? I worked a ton of overtime at my last job before getting laid off.

Be careful about any severance pay or vacation payout you might have received. That can sometimes affect when your benefits start, even though it doesn't change the weekly amount calculation.

I used Claimyr too when I couldn't get through to check on my monetary determination. Really helpful service and way less stressful than trying to call myself. They got me connected in like 20 minutes.

so if they calculated wrong can you appeal it? seems like there should be a way to fix mistakes

Another thing - if you worked in multiple states during your base period, Washington ESD might need to request wage information from those other states. This can delay your claim processing but won't affect the calculation method.

The whole system is designed to give you about half of what you were earning on average. So if your $487 weekly benefit is roughly half your average weekly earnings during the base period, then it's probably calculated correctly.

dont forget you still have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits! they dont take them out automatically unless you request it

I had to use Claimyr when Washington ESD miscalculated my benefits because they were missing wages from one of my employers. Getting through to someone who could actually fix it was impossible until I used their service. Definitely worth it if you're having calculation issues.

For restaurant workers specifically, make sure all your employers reported your wages correctly. I've seen cases where tips weren't reported properly and it affected the benefit calculation.

just wanted to add that if you quit your last job instead of getting laid off, that doesnt change how they calculate your weekly benefit amount. the calculation is the same regardless of why you're unemployed

The Washington ESD website has a benefit calculator tool somewhere if you want to try estimating it yourself, but honestly the monetary determination they send you is usually accurate.

Update: I found my monetary determination in my account and the wages look right. Thanks everyone for explaining how this works! The $487 weekly amount makes sense now when I look at my total base period earnings.

This thread was super helpful! I was wondering about the same thing for my claim. Now I know where to look for my wage information.