How much can you make a week and still get Washington ESD unemployment benefits?

In Washington, you can earn up to 1.5 times your weekly benefit amount before you lose eligibility completely. So if your weekly benefit is $400, you could earn up to $600 and still get something, though it gets reduced dollar for dollar after the first $5.

You need to report ALL earnings when you file your weekly claim, even if it's just $20. The first $5 is ignored, then they deduct everything else from your benefit amount. As long as you don't earn more than 1.5x your weekly benefit amount, you'll still get something.

I had this same question last month and was getting frustrated trying to reach Washington ESD to get a clear answer. Ended up using Claimyr.com to get through to an actual agent who explained the earnings limits perfectly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works - really saved me a lot of time instead of calling for hours.

ugh the earnings thing is so confusing! I've been working 15 hours a week and my benefits keep changing every week. Sometimes I get $200, sometimes $150, I can never figure out the pattern

Just make sure you're reporting the gross pay, not what you take home after taxes. I made that mistake early on and had to deal with an overpayment mess.

The system is so stupid though. Why can't they just have a simple chart somewhere that shows exactly what you'll get based on what you earn? I shouldn't need to do math every week

I'm working 2 part time jobs and still getting unemployment. As long as the total doesn't go over that 1.5x limit you should be fine. Just report everything honestly

Been dealing with this for months and finally got through to Washington ESD using that Claimyr thing someone mentioned earlier. Turns out I was calculating wrong and actually owed them money back. The agent walked me through exactly how to fix my weekly claims going forward.

wait so if my weekly benefit is $300 and I earn $450 in a week, I get nothing?

I've been tracking my earnings vs benefits in a spreadsheet because I was so confused. The pattern is: Weekly Benefit - (Earnings - $5) = What you get. So if your benefit is $400 and you earn $200, you get $400 - $195 = $205

Just remember you still have to do job searches even if you're working part time. I almost got disqualified because I thought working meant I didn't need to look for other jobs

The whole partial unemployment thing saved my butt when I got my hours cut. Still getting $180/week in benefits even though I'm working 20 hours. Better than nothing!

Has anyone had issues with their employer reporting wages differently than what you report? I'm worried about getting flagged for inconsistencies

Pro tip: if you're close to that 1.5x limit, sometimes it's better to work one less hour and stay eligible. I was earning $449 when my limit was $450 and still got $6 in benefits plus they covered my health insurance premium.

This thread is super helpful! I've been scared to take any work because I thought it would mess up my benefits. Now I know I can earn up to like $570 and still get something (my weekly is $380

I tried that Claimyr service too after reading about it here. Got through to Washington ESD in like 10 minutes instead of calling all day. The agent explained that even if you go over the limit one week, you can still file the next week if you're under again.

The earnings deduction always confused me until someone explained it like this: imagine your weekly benefit is your 'allowance' and they let you keep the first $5 you earn, but everything after that comes out of your allowance dollar for dollar

Bottom line: report everything honestly, don't go over 1.5x your weekly benefit amount, and you'll be fine. The system is actually pretty forgiving as long as you're not trying to cheat it

Just wanted to add that you should also keep track of any tips or cash payments if you have that kind of job. I work part-time at a restaurant and was only reporting my hourly wages at first, not realizing I needed to include tips too. Washington ESD counts ALL income, so even if you get paid cash under the table somewhere, you're supposed to report it. Better to be safe than sorry with an overpayment later!