How long do you have to be at a job to collect unemployment in Washington

It's not about how long you worked at one specific job, it's about your total earnings over what's called the 'base period.' Washington ESD looks at the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file your claim. You need to have earned wages in at least 2 quarters and meet minimum earning requirements.

It's not really about how long you've been at ONE job specifically. Washington ESD looks at your base period earnings over the past 5 quarters. You need to have earned at least $1,100 in your highest earning quarter AND total wages of at least 1.25 times your highest quarter earnings during the entire base period.

wait but if you quit voluntarily don't you get disqualified anyway? i thought unemployment was only for people who got laid off or fired without cause

The technical answer is you need sufficient wages in your base period, which is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. But here's something helpful - if you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD to get specifics about your situation, I recently discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you actually get through to speak with an ESD agent instead of getting stuck in the phone queue. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

I had a similar question last year. Turns out I qualified even though I'd only been at my last job for 6 months because I had worked at another place for 2 years before that. The base period calculation includes all your previous employers during those quarters, not just your current one.

The whole system is so confusing!! Why can't they just make it simple like you need to work X months to qualify? All this base period quarter stuff makes my head spin.

You need to have earned at least $3,850 in your base period AND earned at least $2,500 outside your highest earning quarter. These are the 2025 requirements. Even if you worked multiple short jobs, as long as your total earnings hit these thresholds you should qualify.

Just went through this whole process. You definitely want to check your wage history on the Washington ESD website before assuming anything. I thought I qualified but had a gap in employment that messed up my base period.

Been collecting UI for 3 months now after getting laid off. The key thing isn't really time at one job but total earnings. I had worked multiple part-time jobs over the past year and still qualified because my combined wages met the threshold.

Something to keep in mind - even if you qualify based on wages, Washington ESD is super backed up right now. My claim took 6 weeks to get approved and I'm still waiting on back payments. Just be prepared for delays.

I had the same worry when I got laid off after working 6 months at one place. Turns out I qualified because of wages from my previous job too. Washington ESD actually makes it pretty clear on their website if you look up 'monetary determination' - that's what they call the process of figuring out if you earned enough.

dont forget about the job search requirements too! even if you qualify financially you have to prove youre actively looking for work or they'll cut you off

If you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD to get your specific eligibility verified, I found this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to agents faster. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's even a demo video showing how it works (https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ). Saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals.

Just want to add that even if you don't qualify under the regular base period, Washington ESD has an alternate base period they can use. It looks at the most recent 4 quarters instead of excluding the most recent one. Sometimes that helps people who had recent wage increases qualify.

I've been working in Washington for 15 years and still had to look up the exact requirements when I got laid off last month. The $1,100 minimum in your highest quarter is the key number to remember. If you made that much in any quarter during your base period, you're probably good on the wage side.

this whole system is so confusing! why cant they just say you need to work X months like other states do??

Quick question - does time at a job matter if you got fired for attendance issues? Asking for a friend who's worried about qualifying.

I made the mistake of not filing right away because I wasn't sure if I qualified. Turns out you should file as soon as possible even if you're unsure - they'll tell you if you don't qualify but you can't get back pay for weeks you didn't file.

I think there's also something about needing to work at least 680 hours during your base period? Or am I mixing that up with something else?

One thing to keep in mind is that even if you qualify for unemployment, your weekly benefit amount will be based on your highest earning quarter. So having those multiple jobs might affect not just whether you qualify but how much you get.

The Washington ESD website has a benefit calculator that can give you an estimate of what you might qualify for based on your wages. Might be worth checking that out before you make any job decisions.

been through the unemployment process twice now in washington and honestly the hardest part isnt qualifying its dealing with all the bureaucracy and waiting around for decisions

ugh I wish I had known about this earlier. I quit a job after 3 months thinking I didn't have enough work history to qualify for anything if my next job didn't work out

For anyone still confused about this stuff, I ended up using Claimyr to get through to an actual Washington ESD person who could look up my specific wage history and tell me exactly what I qualified for. Way better than trying to calculate it myself and wondering if I got it right.

Just to be clear for everyone - the base period thing can be confusing but here's a simple way to think about it: they look at roughly your last 12-15 months of work (depending on when you file) and add up all your wages. If you hit the minimum thresholds, you qualify regardless of how many different jobs those wages came from.

Important note: if you're thinking about quitting to collect unemployment, DON'T. That's fraud and they will find out. Only quit if you have documented good cause like unsafe working conditions or harassment.

The bottom line is if you've been working steadily for the past year or so, you'll probably qualify wage-wise. The bigger questions are usually around why you're no longer working and whether you can meet the ongoing requirements like job search.

Also worth mentioning that if you're still working part-time while collecting unemployment, you can still qualify as long as you meet the wage requirements from your base period. The part-time work might reduce your weekly benefit but won't disqualify you entirely.

The Washington ESD website has a benefit calculator tool that can give you an estimate based on your wages if you want to check before you actually need to file a claim. Might be worth trying just to see where you stand.

One more thing - if you're worried about job security, it might be worth saving copies of your pay stubs just in case. Sometimes there are discrepancies between what you think you earned and what employers reported to Washington ESD.

One more thing to consider - even if you qualify for regular unemployment, the weekly benefit amount depends on your wages during the base period. Higher earnings mean higher weekly benefits, up to the state maximum.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! Sounds like I should be fine with my work history as long as I add up all my wages correctly. Really appreciate all the detailed explanations.