How is my Washington ESD unemployment calculated - confused about benefit amount

Washington ESD uses your highest quarter earnings from your base period to calculate benefits. They take your highest quarter, divide by 26, then multiply by 0.0385 to get your weekly benefit amount. There's also a maximum weekly benefit of $999 for 2025.

Wait I'm confused too. My benefit amount seems way lower than what I expected based on my pay. I've been trying to call Washington ESD for weeks to get an explanation but can never get through.

The calculation can be confusing because Washington ESD doesn't use your most recent earnings necessarily. Your base period might not include your most current job if you just started it. Check your monetary determination notice - it shows exactly which quarters they used and the wages reported by your employers.

this is why the unemployment system is so screwed up! they use old wages that dont reflect what you were actually making when you lost your job. makes no sense

You can also request an alternate base period if your regular base period doesn't give you enough wages to qualify or gives you a really low benefit amount. It uses more recent quarters.

I had the same confusion when I first got my determination. What helped me was looking at my pay stubs from the quarters they listed and adding them up myself to verify their numbers.

Update: I tried that Claimyr thing someone mentioned and actually got through to an ESD agent! They explained that my employer hadn't reported all my wages correctly, which is why my benefit was so low. The agent is having me submit wage verification documents.

Just wanted to add that if you worked in multiple states, that can also affect your benefit calculation. Washington ESD might need to get wage information from other states which can delay everything.

The monetary determination letter should show your total base period wages and how they divided it up by quarter. If any employer wages are missing or wrong, you need to contact Washington ESD ASAP to get it corrected.

Another thing to remember is that your benefit amount also depends on whether you have any dependents. You can get additional money for dependent children.

ugh im going through this same thing right now. worked two jobs last year and my benefit is barely anything. washington esd is impossible to reach by phone

The formula is: (Highest quarter wages ÷ 26) × 0.0385 = Weekly benefit amount. But it can't exceed the maximum weekly benefit amount which changes each year. For 2025 I think it's $999 max.

If your benefit seems wrong, don't wait to question it. I waited 6 weeks before contacting ESD about an error and it took forever to get it fixed retroactively.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! I'm going to check my monetary determination against my pay stubs and if there are discrepancies, I'll try using Claimyr to get through to an ESD agent. This thread has been super helpful.