How much do you get paid from Washington ESD unemployment - need to know benefit amounts

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount based on your highest earning quarter from the past year. It's roughly 3.85% of your total wages from that quarter. So if your highest quarter was around $13,000, you'd get about $500 per week. The maximum weekly benefit amount in Washington is currently $999 per week.

I just went through this process last month. The benefit amount depends on your base period wages which is the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed. It's not just your annual salary divided by 52 weeks or anything simple like that. You really need to use their online calculator with your actual quarterly wages.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to check your benefit estimate, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you get connected to actual ESD agents without sitting on hold for hours. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Way easier than trying to call yourself.

The formula is: take your two highest earning quarters from your base period, add them together, divide by 2, then multiply by 0.0385. That gives you your weekly benefit amount. But like others said, there's a cap at $999/week maximum.

Just remember you also have to meet the job search requirements to keep getting benefits. You need to make at least 3 job search activities per week and log them in WorkSource. Make sure you understand all the requirements before you start collecting.

I think the system is designed to replace about 50% of your previous income, but it depends on how much you were making. Lower income workers might get a higher percentage replacement.

One thing to keep in mind is that your benefit amount is set when you first file your claim and it stays the same for the entire benefit year, even if you work part-time or have other changes. You can collect for up to 26 weeks in Washington unless there are extended benefits during high unemployment periods.

Make sure you file as soon as possible after your last day of work. There's a waiting week in Washington where you won't get paid for the first week, but you still need to file that week to start the process.

Don't forget about the federal taxes! I made the mistake of not having taxes withheld from my unemployment benefits and ended up owing a bunch at tax time. You can choose to have 10% withheld for federal taxes when you file your weekly claims.

The Washington ESD website has a benefit estimator tool that's pretty accurate once you figure out how to use it. You just need to know your wages for each quarter in your base period. It's under the 'File a Claim' section.

If you're really struggling to get information from Washington ESD, that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier actually worked for me. I was getting conflicting information from the website and couldn't get through on the phone. They helped me talk to someone who explained exactly how my benefits were calculated.

I wish they would just send you a letter or email telling you exactly what your benefit amount will be instead of making you figure it out yourself. The whole system is so confusing for something that should be straightforward.

Just filed my claim last week and found out I'll be getting $627 per week. I was making about $65,000 annually so that seems pretty close to what the formula would predict. The process wasn't as bad as I expected once I gathered all my employment information.

One more thing - if you had any severance pay or vacation payout, that might affect when your benefits start. Washington ESD considers that wages for the weeks it would have covered, so you might have a delay before benefits begin.

The benefit calculator on their website is actually pretty accurate if you can figure out your quarterly wages. I compared what it estimated to what I actually received and it was spot on. The hard part is just getting your wage information organized properly.

Been collecting for about 8 weeks now and the process has been pretty smooth once you get into the routine of filing your weekly claims. The hardest part was the initial setup and figuring out all the requirements. Make sure you keep good records of your job search activities!

If anyone else is having trouble reaching Washington ESD for questions about benefit amounts, I had good luck with Claimyr too. Worth trying if you need to talk to someone and can't get through the regular phone lines.

The maximum benefit amount in Washington is actually pretty good compared to other states. $999 per week is decent money while you're job hunting. Just make sure you're actively looking for work because they do check up on that.

Good luck with your claim! The benefit amount calculation seems complicated at first but once you understand the formula it makes sense. Don't stress too much about getting the exact number ahead of time - you'll find out for sure when you file and they process your claim.