How much does Washington ESD spend on unemployment benefits annually?

You'll want to check the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reports. They break down unemployment insurance expenditures by fiscal year. Last I checked, Washington ESD was spending around $2-3 billion annually on regular UI benefits, but that varies wildly based on unemployment rates and economic conditions.

Thanks! I found their website but it's pretty dense. Do you know if they publish a summary version anywhere?

Check their quarterly reports - they usually have executive summaries that are much easier to digest than the full reports.

The numbers fluctuate dramatically depending on economic conditions. During COVID the spending skyrocketed because of all the federal programs, but in normal years Washington ESD spends significantly less. You might also want to look at the trust fund balance reports to see the full financial picture.

That makes sense about COVID impact. Are the trust fund reports on the same ESD website?

Yes, they're usually in the employer section under trust fund solvency reports. Fair warning - they're pretty technical.

honestly trying to get actual info from washington esd is like pulling teeth. i've been trying to get through to them for weeks about my claim and their phone system is completely broken. maybe try calling them but good luck getting anyone to answer

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr.com. It's a service that helps you actually get through to Washington ESD agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.

never heard of that but honestly anything is better than listening to busy signals all day

Wait, is Claimyr legit? Sounds too good to be true if Washington ESD lines are really that jammed.

For your project you should definitely distinguish between state funds and federal funds. Washington uses both state unemployment taxes and federal funding for different programs. The spending numbers can be misleading if you don't separate them properly.

Good point! I hadn't thought about that distinction. So regular UI comes from state taxes but federal programs are separate funding?

Exactly. Regular unemployment insurance is funded by state payroll taxes on employers. Federal programs like extended benefits during recessions come from federal funding.

The Washington State Auditor's office might have performance audits that include spending data. They sometimes do reviews of Washington ESD operations that would have the numbers you're looking for.

That's a great suggestion! I'll check their recent audit reports.

Also check the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) - they do deeper dives into state agency spending.

why does it matter how much they spend when half the people who need benefits can't even get through to file a claim? the system is broken regardless of the budget

I get the frustration but understanding the financial side helps explain why the system has capacity issues. If you need to reach an agent, that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier actually works - I used it last month.

maybe i'll look into that claimyr thing. anything is worth trying at this point

For recent data try the Governor's budget proposals too. They usually include unemployment insurance projections and historical spending in the budget documents. Much more accessible than digging through ESD reports.

Perfect! That sounds like exactly what I need for my project timeline.

The budget documents are on the Office of Financial Management website if you're looking for them.

Just a heads up that unemployment spending is counter-cyclical - it goes way up during recessions and way down during good economic times. Make sure your project accounts for that pattern or your analysis might be off.

That's really helpful context. I should probably look at spending as a percentage of total claims rather than just raw dollars.

Exactly! Also consider looking at average benefit amounts over time - that changes too based on wage levels and benefit formulas.

The Employment Security Department publishes annual reports that sometimes include financial summaries. Not sure if they have the level of detail you need but worth checking their publications section.

I'll add that to my list. Thanks for all these suggestions everyone!

lol good luck getting real numbers from any government agency. they probably spend more on administrative costs than actual benefits anyway

Actually the administrative costs are usually a pretty small percentage of total spending. Most of the budget goes to actual benefit payments.

if you say so but it sure doesn't feel that way when you can't get help with your claim

One thing to watch out for - make sure you're comparing apples to apples if you look at multi-year data. The benefit calculation formulas and maximum amounts change periodically, so raw spending numbers might not tell the whole story.

Good point about formula changes. I'll need to note those in my analysis.

Also the state unemployment tax rates change based on trust fund balances, which affects revenue but not spending directly.

For what it's worth, I had to research similar data for my job and ended up having to call Washington ESD directly to get some clarifications. Took forever to get through but their research department was actually pretty helpful once I reached them.

How did you manage to get through? Everyone says their phone lines are impossible.

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier in this thread. Worth every penny to avoid the phone maze. You can see how it works in their demo video.

Second this - Claimyr actually gets you to real people at Washington ESD instead of getting stuck in phone hell.

Try contacting the Washington State Legislature's budget staff too. They track all state spending including unemployment insurance and might have summary data that's easier to work with for a college project.

That's a great idea! I bet they have exactly the kind of summary data I need.

The legislative budget staff are usually pretty responsive to academic inquiries in my experience.

Don't forget to factor in federal administrative grants that help fund Washington ESD operations. It's not just benefit payments - there's also the cost of running the whole system.

I hadn't thought about separating operational costs from benefit payments. Thanks for the reminder!