How many Washington ESD unemployment claimants are there right now?

Last I heard Washington state had around 45,000-50,000 active unemployment claims as of late 2024. That number fluctuates week to week depending on new filings vs people finding jobs or hitting benefit exhaustion. The adjudication backlog is definitely real - they're processing way more complex cases than usual.

The actual number changes constantly but Washington ESD publishes weekly claims data if you want exact figures. What matters more for your situation is that adjudication times have been running 3-6 weeks lately depending on the complexity of your case.

I was stuck in adjudication hell for a month until I used Claimyr to actually get through to someone at Washington ESD. The volume is definitely an issue but the real problem is getting past the phone system to talk to a human. That service (claimyr.com) got me connected in like 20 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. There's even a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ

The numbers are huge but what's really frustrating is how understaffed Washington ESD is for handling all these claims. They had massive layoffs a few years back and never fully rebuilt their capacity. Now we're all paying the price with these ridiculous wait times.

I read somewhere that Washington has one of the higher unemployment rates on the west coast right now, especially in tech and construction. So yeah, lots of people filing claims.

does anyone know if they count PUA and PEUC claims in those numbers or just regular UI? i'm confused about what programs are even available anymore

Whatever the exact number is, it's too many for Washington ESD to handle efficiently. I've been waiting 4 weeks for my adjudication to clear and I know people who've been waiting even longer. The system is completely overwhelmed.

The real question isn't how many claimants there are but how many Washington ESD staff they have to process claims. I bet the ratio is terrible.

I remember reading that at the peak of covid Washington had like 200,000+ people on unemployment. 45-50k seems almost manageable by comparison lol

My advice is don't worry too much about the overall numbers and focus on getting your own claim resolved. I used that Claimyr thing someone mentioned and finally got my adjudication cleared after talking to an actual person at Washington ESD.

The numbers don't really matter when you're the one stuck waiting. Washington ESD needs to fix their phone system and hire more staff. Period.

For what it's worth the Washington State Employment Security website has a dashboard with some claim statistics but it's not updated very frequently. Might give you a ballpark idea though.

honestly the exact number doesn't matter. what matters is that there's way too many people trying to get through to way too few agents. that's why services like claimyr exist - to cut through the phone tree nightmare

The unemployment rate in Washington has been pretty steady around 4-5% lately which translates to those 45-50k active claims mentioned earlier. But seasonal variations and industry layoffs can spike those numbers quickly.

Whatever the total is, it's definitely straining the system. My neighbor has been waiting 5 weeks for her disqualification appeal to be reviewed. Washington ESD is clearly understaffed for current demand.

I work in data analysis and based on Washington's population and typical unemployment patterns, 45-50k active claimants seems about right for current economic conditions. The problem isn't the volume, it's the processing capacity.

Bottom line is there are thousands of us in the same boat waiting for Washington ESD to process our claims. The exact number doesn't change the fact that the system is broken and we all need better ways to get through to them.

My UI claim was approved months ago but I still check these forums because I remember how stressful the waiting was. Hang in there everyone - the system sucks but most claims do eventually get processed.

The Washington ESD claim numbers fluctuate but the staffing and system problems are constant. Until they fix the underlying issues, we're all going to keep dealing with these ridiculous wait times and phone system failures.

I think the takeaway here is that there are enough claimants to overwhelm Washington ESD's capacity but not so many that it should be impossible to handle with proper staffing and systems. The problem is institutional, not the claim volume itself.