How much do they pay for unemployment in Washington ESD - confused about benefit amounts

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount using your highest earning quarter from your base year. They take that quarter's earnings, divide by 26, then you get about half of that amount weekly. So if your highest quarter was $6,500, you'd get roughly $125 per week.

The maximum weekly benefit in Washington is $999 right now for 2025, but most people don't get anywhere near that unless they were making really good money. At $18/hour you're probably looking at somewhere between $300-450 per week depending on your hours.

I had such a hard time figuring this out when I filed last year. Kept calling Washington ESD but could never get through to ask questions about my benefit calculation. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual person at Washington ESD. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

ugh i've been getting like $280 a week and it's barely covering anything with rent being so expensive. the amount they give you is based on old wages too so if you got raises recently it doesn't count

Just to clarify the calculation since there's some confusion: Washington ESD looks at your total wages in your highest quarter during the base period, divides that by 26, then gives you roughly 50% of that amount. There's also a minimum of $295/week and maximum of $999/week for 2025.

The Washington ESD website has a benefit calculator but it's not very user-friendly. You basically need to know your quarterly wages for the past 18 months or so. I had to dig through old pay stubs to figure it all out.

Don't forget about taxes! Your unemployment benefits are taxable income. You can have them withhold 10% for federal taxes when you certify each week, which I'd recommend doing so you don't get hit with a big tax bill later.

Also remember you can collect benefits for up to 26 weeks typically, though it might be less if you haven't worked long enough. The total amount you can collect is based on your total base period wages, not just the weekly amount.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO GIVE YOU AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!!! I worked for 15 years and when I finally need help they give me $340 a week. That doesn't even cover my mortgage payment let alone food and utilities.

For anyone having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about their specific benefit calculation, I mentioned Claimyr earlier but wanted to add that it really helped me get answers when I couldn't reach anyone directly. Sometimes you need to talk to a human about your particular situation.

my sister got like $450 a week when she was laid off from her bank job but I only get $310 from my restaurant work. seems unfair that office jobs get more money

Quick question - do they count tips when calculating unemployment benefits? I was a server and made decent money with tips but my base wage was only $15.74/hour.

Just filed last week and still waiting to hear back about my benefit amount. The waiting is killing me because I need to know how much I'll get to plan my budget.

For what it's worth, my friend used that Claimyr thing someone mentioned earlier and said it was super helpful for getting through to Washington ESD when her claim got stuck. Might be worth checking out if you run into problems.

Been collecting for 8 weeks now and getting $425/week. It's not amazing but it's keeping me afloat while I job hunt. The key is to file as soon as you're eligible because there's usually a waiting week.

honestly just file and see what happens. everyone's situation is different and the calculators online aren't always accurate anyway. took me like 20 minutes to fill out the application

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to keep certifying every week and meet the job search requirements to keep getting benefits. It's not just free money - you have to show you're actively looking for work.

Good luck with your application! The whole process seems overwhelming at first but it's really not that bad once you get started. And knowing roughly what to expect for your benefit amount definitely helps with planning.