How long do you have to work a job to get unemployment in Washington state?

Washington ESD doesn't require you to work at one job for a specific length of time. They look at your total wages earned during what's called the 'base period' - which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. You need to have earned at least $1,000 in your base period and your total wages must be at least 1.5 times what you earned in your highest-earning quarter.

I had the same question when I got laid off last year. The Washington ESD website has a tool where you can check if you qualify based on your wages. You don't need to work somewhere for a year - that's definitely wrong. I qualified even though I had 3 different jobs in my base period.

There's also the issue of WHY you're unemployed though. Even if you meet the wage requirements, you still need to be unemployed through no fault of your own. If you quit without good cause or get fired for misconduct, you won't qualify regardless of how long you worked.

ugh I wish I had known this earlier. I spent months trying to call Washington ESD to ask about eligibility requirements and could never get through. Their phone lines are always busy and I kept getting disconnected. Finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person to verify my eligibility. They have this demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Saved me so much frustration.

The quarterly thing is confusing but it's not as complicated as it sounds. Just think of it as Washington ESD looking at your work history over the past year-ish to see if you earned enough money. The exact amount changes each year but it's not super high.

i qualified with just 9 months of work spread across 2 jobs so your friend is definitely wrong about needing a full year at one place

Make sure you keep track of all your employers and wages because you'll need that information when you file your claim. Washington ESD will verify everything anyway but it's good to have your records ready.

The Washington ESD system is actually pretty straightforward once you understand the base period concept. Don't stress too much about it - if you've been working steadily for over a year you'll probably qualify.

Also remember that even if you qualify for benefits, you still need to be actively looking for work and meeting the job search requirements. But that's a whole different topic from just qualifying initially.

I had a similar situation where I was worried about qualifying. Turns out I was overthinking it. If you've been working consistently and earning regular wages, you'll likely meet the requirements. The Washington ESD isn't trying to trick people - they just need to verify you have sufficient work history.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you're currently employed and just worried about potential layoffs, you can't file for unemployment until you're actually unemployed. But it's good that you're researching the requirements ahead of time.

The base period thing confused me too when I first learned about it. Basically Washington ESD looks at your wages from about 3-18 months ago, not your most recent work. So even if you just started a new job, they're looking at your previous work history.

honestly the whole system seems designed to be confusing but the actual requirements aren't that strict if you've been working regularly

I remember being in the same boat - worried about whether I'd qualify if I got laid off. The peace of mind from understanding the requirements ahead of time is worth it. Sounds like you should be fine based on what you've described.

Just to summarize for anyone else reading this: Washington ESD looks at your total wages over a base period (usually 4 quarters), not how long you worked at any single job. As long as you earned enough wages and became unemployed through no fault of your own, you can qualify for benefits.

If you do end up needing to file a claim, make sure to do it as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. You can't get benefits for weeks before you file, even if you were eligible.

The Washington ESD website actually has pretty good information about eligibility requirements if you know where to look. The hard part is usually getting through to talk to someone if you have specific questions about your situation.

Hope this discussion helped clear things up! The work requirement thing trips up a lot of people but it's really not as complicated as it first seems.