How much do you get unemployment in Washington - confused about benefit amounts

Washington ESD uses your highest earning quarter from your base period to calculate your weekly benefit amount. They take that quarter's earnings and divide by 26 to get your weekly amount. The maximum weekly benefit in 2025 is $999 per week, but most people don't hit that max unless they were making really good money.

Just remember you have to meet the minimum earnings requirement too. You need at least $1,685 in your highest quarter and total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter. Most people who worked full time easily meet this though.

I've been trying to get through to Washington ESD for weeks to ask about my benefit calculation because something seems off on my claim. The phone lines are always busy and I can't get anyone to explain why my amount is lower than expected. It's so frustrating!

Your base period matters a lot too. Washington ESD looks at the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at July 2023 through June 2024. If you had a pay increase recently, it might not count if it was in the most recent quarter.

The whole system is confusing as hell. I made $45k last year and only getting $420 a week which seems low to me. But trying to get anyone at Washington ESD to explain it is impossible.

Don't forget they take out taxes too if you elect to have them withheld. That's 10% federal tax, so your actual deposit will be less than your weekly benefit amount.

One thing that tripped me up was partial benefits. If you work part time while on unemployment, they reduce your weekly amount dollar for dollar after the first $5. So working 10 hours at $15/hour would reduce your benefit by $145 that week.

The maximum benefit is tied to the state average wage, so it goes up slightly each year. In 2024 it was $929 per week, now it's $999 for 2025.

I've been on unemployment twice and both times the benefit amount was exactly what I expected based on the calculation. Washington ESD's system is actually pretty straightforward once you understand how the base period works.

Just remember you can't collect more than 26 times your weekly benefit amount in total, and you can't collect for more than 26 weeks in a benefit year. So if you're getting $577/week, your maximum total would be about $15,000.

The benefit calculator on Washington ESD's website is pretty accurate if you want to estimate before you file. Just plug in your quarterly wages and it'll give you a good idea of your weekly amount.

One more thing - if you think your benefit amount is wrong, you can appeal it. I had to do that once when an employer didn't report my wages correctly and it took a few weeks but they fixed it.

Thanks everyone for all the info! This thread has been super helpful in understanding how Washington ESD calculates unemployment benefits. Sounds like I should expect around $575-600 per week based on my wages.