How much are unemployment benefits in Washington state - confused about weekly amount calculation

Thanks! So if my highest quarter was around $8,400 what would that work out to roughly?

With $8,400 in your highest quarter, you'd likely get around $420-450 per week, but Washington ESD has to verify all your wages first during the adjudication process.

That's actually pretty close to what I was hoping for. Did your claim take long to get approved?

took about 2 weeks but that was back in october, might be faster now

Okay so if my two highest quarters were $8,400 and $7,200, that's $15,600 divided by 2 = $7,800, then divided by 13 = $600 per week?

Exactly! Though Washington ESD will verify all your reported wages before finalizing your weekly benefit amount.

Wait I thought the maximum was $1,015? So they'd actually pay $600 if that's what the formula says?

How do you check if all your employers are showing up? I had two part-time jobs before my main restaurant job.

You can see your wage report in your SecureAccess Washington account under the unemployment section. If employers are missing you have to contact Washington ESD to get it fixed - which is nearly impossible by phone.

Actually, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents when you can't reach them normally. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me weeks of trying to call myself.

Because they have to verify your wages with all your employers first. It's actually protecting you - if they paid you immediately and your wages were wrong, you'd have to pay back any overpayment later.

I guess that makes sense but the waiting is killing me financially.

Good point! I didn't even think about taxes. Is the 10% usually enough?

Depends on your total income for the year but 10% federal plus you'll owe Washington state taxes too. Unemployment benefits are fully taxable.

Did your second claim process faster since you'd done it before?

Not really, still took about 3 weeks for adjudication both times. Washington ESD is just slow regardless.

What kind of issues cause that to happen?

Usually wage verification problems, questions about why you left your job, or if you worked in multiple states. Anything that needs manual review by a Washington ESD adjudicator.

How much can you work before it affects your benefits?

you can earn up to your weekly benefit amount minus $5 before they start reducing your payment. so if your weekly benefit is $500 you can earn up to $495 without any reduction

This is really helpful! Sounds like I should be in that middle range then.

Where do you find these specific numbers? I've been looking all over the Washington ESD website.

They're in the Washington ESD benefit calculator tool and the annual benefit year documentation. Sometimes buried pretty deep on their site.

That's exactly why I ended up using Claimyr - they handle the calling part so you don't have to sit on hold for hours just to get disconnected.

Really? How does that work exactly?

You give them your info and they call Washington ESD for you, wait on hold, then connect you directly to an agent when they get through. Way better than wasting entire days trying to call yourself.

Yes, unemployment benefits count as income for SNAP and most other assistance programs in Washington.

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. Guess I need to factor that into my budget planning.

Same here! Summer was great but winter was really slow before I got laid off.

At least the calculation uses your highest quarters so the slow months don't hurt you as much.

Standby status has the same weekly benefit calculation, but you don't have to do job searches since you're expected to return to your employer.

That's a relief! The job search requirements seemed overwhelming on top of everything else.

They do have a benefit calculator tool, but it's not very user-friendly and sometimes gives estimates that don't match what you actually get approved for.

I tried that calculator and it was so confusing I gave up halfway through.

That's encouraging! At least they're keeping up with cost of living somewhat.

Yeah, though rent has gone up way more than unemployment benefits unfortunately.

Good to know! I definitely want to avoid unnecessary fees.

Yeah the card charges for ATM withdrawals at non-network machines and some other stuff. Direct deposit is the way to go.

Same situation here. Impossible to get anyone on the phone to check status.

This is exactly the kind of situation where Claimyr helps - you can get through to an actual Washington ESD agent to check your claim status instead of just waiting indefinitely.

Might have to look into that if this drags on much longer.

Perfect! I'll check that right now. Thanks for the tip!

No problem! Just remember it's an estimate until they verify everything, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect.

I understand the frustration, but the complexity exists because they have to follow federal and state laws about eligibility and benefit calculations. It's not intentionally confusing, just legally required to be thorough.

I get that, but they could definitely make the process more user-friendly without changing the underlying requirements.