How long you gotta work to get unemployment benefits in Washington state?

You don't need a full year. Washington state requires you to have earned wages in at least two quarters during your base period (which is usually the first four of the last five completed quarters). The minimum is earning at least $1,005 total during your base period, with at least $1,005 in your highest earning quarter.

I had the same question when I got furloughed last year. The wage requirements are actually pretty reasonable - it's not about how long you worked but how much you earned in total. At $18/hour full time you'd easily meet the minimum wage requirements after just a few months.

Just a heads up - I spent weeks trying to call Washington ESD about my wage base period question and could never get through. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration trying to get answers about my eligibility.

wait so is it two quarters OR four quarters? im confused now

THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I worked for 8 months and they STILL denied my claim because apparently my employer wasn't reporting my wages correctly. Took me 3 months to sort it out and get my benefits. Washington ESD is a nightmare to deal with.

I think there's also different rules if you're seasonal or part-time? My sister worked retail and had issues because her hours were all over the place.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you have 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.

Does anyone know if you can collect unemployment between seasonal jobs? Like if you work retail during holidays then get laid off in January?

For anyone who ends up needing to contact Washington ESD about eligibility questions, seriously consider using Claimyr. I wasted so much time on hold and getting disconnected before I found them. Made the whole process so much easier.

so the original poster should be fine with 4 months of full time work at $18/hour right?

One more thing - make sure your employer is actually reporting your wages to Washington ESD. I had a friend who worked under the table and couldn't get benefits because there was no record of his employment.

The wage requirements in Washington are actually pretty reasonable compared to some other states. The hardest part is usually dealing with the bureaucracy and getting answers when you have questions.

Just want to add that if you do end up filing a claim, make sure you file your weekly claims on time every week. Even if your claim is still being processed, you need to keep filing to avoid missing out on benefits.

This has been really helpful. I've been wondering about the same thing since I just started a new job a few months ago.

One last plug for Claimyr - if anyone ends up needing to talk to Washington ESD about wage base periods or eligibility, check out their demo video. It really shows how much easier it makes getting through to an actual person who can answer your specific questions.

This thread should be pinned or something - such good basic info about work requirements that everyone should know.

At least Washington's requirements are straightforward. Some states have crazy complicated formulas that make no sense.

Hope this helps the original poster! Sounds like you'd definitely qualify if you needed to file.

great thread, learned a lot about the requirements

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to explain this stuff. Really appreciate the help!