How long does unemployment take to kick in after filing with Washington ESD?

It usually takes 2-3 weeks for your first payment after filing. Washington ESD has to verify your employment history and wages first. Did you get any determination letters yet?

same boat here, filed 10 days ago and still waiting. this is so stressful when you have bills to pay

The waiting period can be frustrating but there's a process they have to follow. First payment typically comes 2-4 weeks after filing, depending on how quickly they can verify your information. If you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD by phone, I recently discovered Claimyr.com - they help you get through to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

FOUR WEEKS and counting here!! Washington ESD is absolutely useless. They take forever to process anything and their phone system is a joke. I've called probably 200 times and never gotten through.

Make sure you're continuing to file your weekly claims even while waiting for the first payment. If you miss any weeks, it can delay everything even more.

The whole system is set up to discourage people from claiming. They make it as difficult and slow as possible hoping you'll just give up and find work.

For what it's worth, once your claim is approved the payments are usually pretty reliable. The initial waiting period is definitely the worst part of the whole process.

Mine took exactly 17 days from filing to first payment. Had to verify my identity with some extra documents but after that it was smooth sailing.

update: just got my determination letter today! says I'm approved but first payment won't be until next week. so about 3 weeks total for me

The key is to not panic if it takes longer than expected. I know that's easier said than done when you're stressed about money, but Washington ESD does eventually come through.

Just want to add that if anyone is having trouble getting through to Washington ESD customer service, I used Claimyr last month and it worked great. They got me connected within like 20 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own.

been there done that. the waiting is the absolute worst part. hang in there OP!

If your claim gets stuck in adjudication that's when you really need to talk to someone. Mine was delayed because of some issue with my previous employer's response.

I remember my first time filing for unemployment - the uncertainty is awful. But in my experience Washington ESD is generally pretty good about getting payments out once they approve you.

Make sure all your contact information is up to date in your account. Sometimes they try to reach you and if they can't, it slows everything down.

UPDATE: Finally got through to someone after using that Claimyr service someone mentioned. Turns out my claim was stuck because of a clerical error on their end. Should have my payment by Wednesday. Wish I'd known about this service weeks ago!

pro tip: keep documenting your job search activities even while you're waiting for approval. you'll need those records later for your weekly claims.

The waiting period sucks but at least Washington state has pretty decent unemployment benefits compared to other places. Once it kicks in you should be okay.

fingers crossed for you OP! the first payment is always the scariest wait but it gets easier after that

Hope this thread helps other people going through the same thing. The initial waiting period is stressful but Washington ESD does process claims fairly reliably once you get through the queue.