How much are unemployment benefits in Washington ESD?

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount based on your highest earning quarter in your base period. They take your total wages from that quarter and divide by 26. The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $999 plus a $25 dependency allowance for each dependent child up to 5 kids. So you could potentially get up to $1124 per week if you have two kids and earned enough.

i think its based on your last 4 quarters of work or something like that. you should be able to get a estimate on the washington esd website before you file

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about benefit amounts, I'd suggest checking out Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help people get connected to ESD agents faster than trying to call on your own. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. I used it last month when I couldn't get anyone on the phone about my claim status.

With $52k annual salary you're probably looking at somewhere around $600-700 per week before taxes. The calculation is complex but that's a rough estimate. Don't forget that unemployment benefits are taxable income so you might want to have taxes withheld.

The Washington ESD system is SO confusing about benefit amounts. They use your base period which is the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. Then they look at your highest quarter and divide by 26. But if that doesn't give you enough to qualify, they might use an alternate base period. It's unnecessarily complicated.

just file online and theyll tell you exactly how much you get. the whole process takes like 20 minutes

One thing to keep in mind - you can receive benefits for up to 26 weeks in a benefit year, but only if you actively search for work and file your weekly claims on time. Washington ESD requires 3 job search activities per week and you have to log them in WorkSourceWA.

Don't get your hopes up too much about getting benefits quickly. I filed 3 weeks ago and my claim is still in adjudication. Haven't seen a penny yet even though I did everything right.

I was making about the same as you and got $642 per week. But that was 2 years ago so the amounts might be different now. The dependency allowance for my one kid was $25 extra per week.

Make sure you understand the difference between your weekly benefit amount and what you actually receive. If you work part-time while on unemployment, they reduce your benefits dollar for dollar after you earn more than 25% of your weekly benefit amount.

The whole system is a nightmare. I've been trying to get someone on the phone for WEEKS about my benefit amount calculation because I think they made an error. The customer service is absolutely terrible.

If you have a spouse who works, that doesn't affect your unemployment benefits at all. Your benefit amount is based solely on YOUR work history and earnings. I was worried about this when I first filed.

Pro tip: when you do get your benefit amount determination, read it carefully and make sure all your employers and wages are listed correctly. If there's an error, you need to appeal within 30 days or you're stuck with whatever amount they calculated.

ugh i remember when i was unemployed the first time i had no idea how any of this worked. the letters they send are so confusing with all the legal language

One more thing - if you're eligible for the dependency allowance, you'll need to provide documentation for your kids like birth certificates or tax returns. Don't assume they'll automatically add it even if you mention having dependents.

The benefit calculator used to be on the ESD website but I think they removed it. Your best bet is just to file and see what they give you. You can always appeal if you think it's wrong.

I'm curious about this Claimyr thing people keep mentioning. Has anyone actually used it successfully? Seems too good to be true that there's a way to skip the phone queue.

Just remember that even if you qualify for $700+ per week, you still need to be actively looking for work. Don't treat unemployment as a vacation because they do check up on your job search activities.

Good luck with your claim! The whole process can be stressful but once you get through the initial setup, the weekly claims are pretty routine. Just make sure to file every week even if you haven't heard about your benefit amount yet.