How much do you make with unemployment benefits in Washington?

Washington ESD uses your highest quarter of earnings from your base year to calculate benefits. The weekly benefit amount is roughly 3.85% of that quarter's wages, but there's a minimum of $295 and maximum of $999 per week as of 2025. So if you were making $1000/week consistently, you'd probably get close to the maximum.

I was making about the same and got $847 per week from Washington ESD. The calculation is weird though - they look at your earnings from like 15 months ago, not your most recent job. Really caught me off guard when I filed my claim.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to check your benefit estimate, I found this service called Claimyr that helped me actually reach an agent. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Really saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals.

JUST A WARNING - don't count on getting the maximum amount even if you think you qualify. Washington ESD has been really strict about job search requirements and they'll cut your benefits if you don't meet them exactly. Make sure you understand what you need to do BEFORE you start collecting.

i got like $400 a week but i was only working part time before so that makes sense i guess

Also keep in mind that if you have any severance pay or vacation payout, that might affect when your benefits start. Washington ESD considers that as wages even though you're not working anymore.

Been on unemployment for 8 weeks now and it's honestly not enough to live on even at $750/week. My mortgage alone is $2800/month. Really hoping to find something soon.

The whole system is set up to give you just enough to survive but not enough to be comfortable. It's supposed to motivate you to find work quickly I guess.

One thing I learned is that you can work part-time while collecting unemployment, but they reduce your benefits based on what you earn. Might be worth looking for some temporary or gig work to supplement the UI payments.

Make sure you set up direct deposit if you get approved. Getting those paper checks in the mail was taking forever and I needed the money ASAP.

I tried calling Washington ESD for weeks to get my benefit amount clarified because the online calculator seemed wrong. Finally used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and got through immediately. The agent explained that my calculation was based on quarters where I had a different job, which I didn't realize.

also dont forget about the waiting week. theres no waiting week anymore in washington but some people still think there is

The maximum is $999 but that's before taxes. I'm getting the max and after federal and state taxes it's more like $750 take-home. Still better than nothing but just so you know.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you file your weekly claims every single week even if there are issues with your account. If you miss filing for a week, you lose that week's benefits permanently. Found this out the hard way.

been trying to reach someone at washington esd for 3 weeks about my benefit calculation and cant get through. phones are always busy or i get disconnected after waiting

my friend told me unemployment is like 60% of your wages but sounds like its more complicated than that

Don't forget that unemployment benefits count as income for things like food stamps and other assistance programs. Might affect your eligibility for other help if you're getting close to income limits.

The hardest part for me was understanding the base year thing. I kept thinking they'd use my most recent wages but they use wages from over a year ago in some cases. Really screwed up my budgeting at first.

Just remember that if you get disqualified for any reason, you can appeal. I got disqualified initially because they said I quit my job voluntarily, but I appealed and won because I had documentation that I was laid off.

Bottom line - file as soon as you're eligible and don't expect to get rich off unemployment. It's meant to help you get by while job searching, not replace your full income.