How long do u have to be at a job to collect unemployment benefits in Washington?

It's not about how long you worked at one specific job - Washington ESD looks at your total earnings over what's called the 'base period.' This is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. You need to have earned at least $3,850 in your base period and worked in at least 680 hours.

wait this is confusing me too. i thought you had to work somewhere for like a year to get benefits? my sister told me that

I was in a similar situation and had trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about my eligibility. Kept getting busy signals and dropped calls. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Really saved me time and frustration.

The earnings requirement is actually higher now than it used to be. You need at least $3,850 in your base period total, AND you need to have earned at least 1.5 times your highest quarter in your total base period. So if your highest quarter was $2,000, you'd need at least $3,000 total to qualify.

UGH this system is so confusing!! why can't they just make it simple like 'work X months get benefits' instead of all this base period quarter nonsense

Just to add - even if you qualify based on earnings, you still need to meet the other requirements like being able and available for work, actively searching for jobs, and not having quit without good cause or been fired for misconduct.

wait so what if you worked part time? does that count towards the hours requirement?

honestly just apply and see what happens. worst case they say no and you know for sure. took me like 20 minutes to fill out the application online

One thing to keep in mind - if you're close to the minimum requirements, it might be worth waiting a bit if you have any other work coming up. Sometimes an extra week or two of earnings can make the difference between qualifying and not.

make sure you have all your employment info ready when you apply - dates, employer names, addresses, reason for separation, etc. they'll ask for all of it

Also worth noting - if your base period doesn't have enough earnings, Washington ESD will automatically check your 'alternate base period' which uses more recent quarters. So even if your initial calculation doesn't work out, you might still qualify.

Don't forget you'll also need to register with WorkSourceWA for the job search requirements once your claim is approved. That's a separate step but required to keep getting benefits.

still think this whole system is unnecessarily complicated but at least now i understand how it works

Just remember to file your weekly claims every week once you're approved, even if you're still waiting for payment. Missing weeks can cause delays and complications.

thanks everyone this thread was really helpful! way better than trying to decode the washington esd website

If you do run into issues getting through to Washington ESD by phone, definitely check out that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. Made a huge difference for me when I needed to talk to someone about my claim status.

Best of luck with your application! Based on what you've described, it sounds like you should qualify, especially if you had steady work before this last job too.

one last tip - apply sooner rather than later since there's usually a waiting week before benefits start anyway

hope everything works out for you! unemployment can be stressful but at least the benefits help bridge the gap while job hunting

alright i'm convinced to finally apply for benefits myself after reading all this. been putting it off for weeks