How much do you make on unemployment in Washington - what's the weekly benefit amount?

Thanks! So it's based on quarterly earnings not annual? That makes more sense. Do they automatically look at all your quarters or do I need to provide pay stubs?

They pull your wage info automatically from employers who report to Washington ESD. You don't need to provide pay stubs unless there's missing wage info that needs to be added to your claim.

That sounds about right based on what I was making. Definitely less than I hoped but better than nothing while I'm job searching.

Oh wow I didn't know about the base period thing. I did start my last job about 8 months ago after being unemployed for a few months. Will that hurt my benefit amount?

It might, depending on your exact timeline. When you file your initial claim, Washington ESD will show you exactly which quarters they're using and you can see if it includes your recent higher wages or not.

Is that legit? Seems too good to be true that they can actually get you through to Washington ESD agents.

Yeah I was skeptical too but it actually worked. They handle the calling and waiting for you, then connect you when an agent picks up. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.

That's a helpful way to think about it. I'll try to figure out what my highest quarter was and do that math.

just remember the $999 max is pretty high - most people don't hit that unless they were making like $100k+ annually

Good point about taxes. Do they withhold automatically or do I have to request it?

You have to request tax withholding when you file your weekly claims. I think it's 10% federal withholding option in the system.

What's the threshold where they start reducing benefits?

In Washington you can earn up to your weekly benefit amount minus $5 before they start reducing your UI payment. So if your weekly benefit is $300, you can earn up to $295 without any reduction.

I agree it's confusing, but they do show you the exact calculation once you file your initial claim. The monetary determination letter breaks it all down with your specific wage history.

Yeah but by then you've already filed and committed to the process. Would be nice to know beforehand if it's even worth filing.

Yes, overtime counts as regular wages for UI purposes. All reported wages from employers count toward your base period earnings.

Awesome, that should help my benefit amount then since I worked a ton of overtime last year.

So even if I qualify for the weekly amount, I might not get the full 26 weeks?

Exactly. If your total base period wages were low, you might exhaust your benefit year amount before reaching 26 weeks of payments.

That's true, something is definitely better than nothing. How long did it take for your first payment after filing?

About 2-3 weeks after my waiting week, but that was before COVID when processing was faster. Might take longer now with all the backlogs.

How much does something like that cost? Seems like it could get expensive if you need to call multiple times.

It's actually pretty reasonable for what you get. Much cheaper than taking time off work to keep calling Washington ESD during business hours.

How do you get missing employers added? Do you have to provide documentation?

You'll need to contact Washington ESD with the employer info and possibly provide pay stubs or W2s. The employer also needs to be contacted to verify the wages.

That's encouraging! Hopefully mine comes out to a decent amount too.

That sounds about right for that salary level. The calculation can work out well if your wages were concentrated in the right quarters.

Good to know. I wasn't planning on school but that's important for people who might be considering it.

There are some exceptions for approved training programs but you have to get pre-approval from Washington ESD before starting.

Wait, so even if I'm approved I don't get anything for the first week?

Correct, the first payable week is called a waiting week and you don't receive benefits for it. It's just how the system works in Washington.

Thanks for mentioning it again. I bookmarked their site in case I need help getting through to discuss my claim.

Yeah I'm definitely going to keep that in mind if I run into issues with my claim. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info!

That's really good advice. I'll go ahead and file this week rather than trying to figure out every detail first.

Smart move. The application will show you the calculated benefit amount anyway, so you'll know exactly what to expect once it's processed.