How many hours do you need to collect unemployment in Washington ESD?

For Washington ESD, it's not just about hours - they look at your earnings during the base period. You need to have earned at least $7,000 in wages during your base period, which is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. The hours matter less than the total wages earned.

You can definitely get partial unemployment if your hours got reduced! I was in a similar situation last year. Since you're still working under 15 hours, you should be able to claim benefits for the difference. Just make sure to report your part-time wages when you file your weekly claims.

I had a nightmare trying to get through to Washington ESD about my eligibility questions. Spent literally hours on hold only to get disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me through to a real agent. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your specific situation.

The Washington ESD website has a benefits calculator that might help you estimate what you'd get. But yeah, the main thing is having enough wages in your base period, not specific hours. Part-time workers can definitely qualify if they meet the wage requirements.

wait so theres no minimum hours requirement at all?? i thought you had to work full time to get unemployment

Just to clarify the base period thing - Washington ESD uses your first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters. So if you file in January 2025, they'd look at January-December 2024 earnings. Sometimes people get confused about which quarters count.

One thing to watch out for - you still need to be able and available for work even with partial unemployment. That means actively looking for more hours or a better job. Washington ESD requires job search activities.

I'm dealing with something similar but my employer is being weird about reporting my reduced hours. They keep saying I voluntarily reduced my availability but that's not true - they just don't have the work. Anyone else deal with this?

The Washington ESD monetary determination letter will break down exactly how they calculated your benefit amount based on your base period wages. You'll get this after you file your initial claim. Don't panic if it takes a week or two to arrive.

Update on the Claimyr thing I mentioned earlier - I used it again this week to check on a different issue and got through to an agent in like 10 minutes. Way better than the 2+ hour wait times I was getting before. Really recommend it if you need to talk to Washington ESD about your specific situation.

For anyone wondering about the math - if you earned $20,000 in your base period, your weekly benefit amount would be roughly $400-500 depending on your high quarter. Then they subtract 75% of your part-time wages from that amount.

make sure you file your weekly claims every week even if you worked some hours!! i missed a week thinking i didnt qualify and it messed up my whole claim

Does anyone know if there's a limit to how long you can collect partial unemployment? Like if my hours stay reduced for months?

I went through this whole process last year. The hardest part was getting accurate information upfront. Washington ESD's website helps but talking to an actual agent made all the difference in understanding my specific situation.

One more thing - if you've been working multiple part-time jobs, make sure Washington ESD has wage records from ALL your employers. Sometimes smaller employers are slow to report wages to the state.

Bottom line - if you've been working consistently and earning decent wages, reduced hours shouldn't disqualify you from benefits. The system is designed to help people in exactly your situation.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! I feel much more confident about filing my claim now. Going to gather my wage records and submit my application this week.

For future reference, WorkSourceWA also has resources about unemployment eligibility and job search requirements. Worth bookmarking since you'll need to use it for your job search activities anyway.