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

You can earn up to 1.5 times your weekly benefit amount before your benefits get completely cut off. Since your WBA is $462, you could theoretically earn up to $693 per week and still receive some unemployment. But they deduct dollar-for-dollar after the first $5, so at $180/week you'd get $462 - ($180 - $5) = $287 in unemployment benefits.

The formula is pretty straightforward but you need to report ALL earnings during the week you earn them, not when you get paid. Washington ESD will calculate your benefit reduction automatically when you file your weekly claim. Just make sure you're still actively job searching for full-time work since that's a requirement.

I was in a similar boat last year and kept getting confused about the earnings limits. After calling Washington ESD about 50 times and never getting through, I found this service called Claimyr that actually gets you connected to an agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Got my questions answered in like 20 minutes instead of spending weeks trying to get through.

be careful about reporting your hours too. if you work more than 32 hours in a week you're considered full time and might not qualify for that week even if the pay is low

I've been doing part-time work while on unemployment for 3 months now. The key is just being honest about everything. Report your gross earnings (before taxes) and let Washington ESD do the math. They're pretty good at calculating the deductions automatically.

WAIT hold up everyone. The earnings limits changed recently I think? I could swear it used to be different. My friend got completely cut off last month for earning like $400 in a week.

This is exactly why I hate the unemployment system. You're trying to work and better yourself but they make it so complicated with all these calculations and requirements. Just let people work part-time without jumping through hoops!

Quick tip - make sure you're reporting your earnings in the right week on your weekly claim. I made the mistake of reporting based on when I got paid instead of when I worked and it messed up my benefits for like a month.

The math is: Weekly Benefit Amount minus (Gross Earnings minus $5). So if you earn $180, you get $462 - ($180 - $5) = $287. Pretty straightforward once you know the formula.

I tried using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier and it actually worked great. Got connected to a Washington ESD agent in about 15 minutes and she walked me through the whole earnings calculation process. Way better than trying to figure it out from the website.

One more thing to watch out for - if you have any PTO or vacation pay from your old job, that might affect your benefits too. I got hit with that surprise when I cashed out my remaining vacation days.

Just to add my experience - I worked part-time for about 6 months while collecting partial unemployment. As long as you're honest about reporting and keep looking for full-time work, it's actually a pretty good system. Helps bridge the gap financially.

Bottom line: report all your earnings honestly, understand that you'll get dollar-for-dollar deductions after the first $5, and you can earn up to 1.5x your weekly benefit amount before losing benefits entirely. The system actually works pretty well once you understand it.