How long can u stay on unemployment - Washington ESD benefit duration limits?

Standard unemployment benefits in Washington last up to 26 weeks, but the exact duration depends on your earnings in your base year. Washington ESD calculates your maximum benefit amount and duration based on your work history.

The 26 week limit is the maximum for regular UI benefits. Your actual duration depends on your benefit year earnings. You can check your exact remaining weeks by logging into your Washington ESD account - it shows your maximum benefit amount and weeks remaining.

Had trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about my benefit duration last month. Kept getting busy signals and when I did get through, got hung up on twice. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get connected to an actual agent who explained my specific situation. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your benefits.

just a heads up - there's no more extended benefits or federal extensions like during covid. once your 26 weeks (or whatever you qualify for) are up, that's it unless you start a new claim with recent work history

Important thing to remember is you have to file your weekly claims every week even if you haven't found work yet. Miss too many and they can stop your benefits even if you have weeks left.

The duration also depends on the unemployment rate in your area. In high unemployment areas you might qualify for additional weeks, but I don't think Washington has triggered that recently.

Been on unemployment twice in the last 5 years. First time got the full 26 weeks, second time only qualified for 18 weeks because I hadn't worked as long. Really depends on your work history and earnings.

Don't forget about the waiting week! Even though they don't make you wait anymore before getting paid, you still lose one week of benefits at the end. So if you qualify for 26 weeks, you actually get 25 weeks of payments.

whatever you do don't let your benefits run out completely before looking for work seriously. I know someone who burned through all 26 weeks and then couldn't find anything. no more help after that

If you're getting close to exhausting your benefits, you might want to look into WorkSource services. They have job training programs that might help, though I'm not sure if you can get extended benefits while in training.

Another thing about Claimyr - when I used it to talk to Washington ESD, the agent was able to pull up my exact benefit information and tell me exactly how many weeks I had left and when my benefit year expires. Way better than trying to figure it out from the website.

One more thing - if you work part time while collecting unemployment, it can extend how long your benefits last since you're not using up your full weekly benefit amount. But you have to report all earnings.

just make sure you understand when your benefit year ends too. even if you have weeks left, once your benefit year expires you can't collect anymore unless you requalify with new work

For what it's worth, I used that Claimyr service too after seeing it mentioned here. Really did help me get through to Washington ESD faster than calling on my own. The agent clarified some confusion I had about my remaining benefit weeks.

Bottom line - most people get 26 weeks if they worked steadily before filing. Check your Washington ESD account for your specific situation, keep filing weekly claims, do your job searches, and don't wait until the last minute to find work.