How much does unemployment pay in Washington - what's the weekly benefit amount?

Thanks! So if I made $13,000 in my highest quarter, that would be around $500 per week? That seems pretty good actually.

Yes, that sounds about right. Just remember you'll need to file weekly claims and meet job search requirements to keep getting benefits.

Ugh I'm dreading having to call them. How long did it take to get your first payment?

took about 3 weeks but that was because my claim went into adjudication for some reason

Thanks! That's way more than I expected. So they look at my best quarter from the past year?

Actually it's your base period which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file now, they'd look at quarters from early 2024 through late 2024.

So with my salary of $52k, that would put me around $13k per quarter. Does that mean I'd get close to the maximum?

Not quite - you'd get about $500-600 per week based on those earnings. The $999 maximum requires significantly higher wages.

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr - it's a service that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Finally got my questions answered after using it.

Try calling right at 8am when they open, that's when I finally got through but it took like 45 minutes on hold

Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true honestly. How much does it cost?

It's totally legitimate. I was skeptical too but it worked perfectly when I needed to check on my claim status. They focus on getting you connected rather than charging crazy fees.

I used Claimyr too when my weekly claim got stuck. Way better than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected.

Never heard of that but honestly willing to try anything at this point. The hold times are insane.

Is that weekly amount before taxes or after? I assume they take taxes out?

I don't have any dependents so that wouldn't apply to me. Just trying to figure out the base amount.

wait theres extra money for having kids?? i have 2 kids and nobody told me about this when i filed my claim

Yes, it's called the dependency allowance. You should contact Washington ESD about adding your dependents to your claim if you didn't include them originally.

Good to know about the tax withholding option. I definitely don't want to owe a bunch at tax time.

DEFINITELY elect tax withholding!! I learned this the hard way last year when I owed like $3,000 in taxes from my unemployment benefits.

Did they explain why it was lower than expected? I want to make sure I understand before I file.

It has to do with which quarters they use for calculation. They don't just take your most recent salary - they look at a specific base period that might not include your highest earning months.

Good point, I'll make sure to set aside money for taxes or have them withheld.

I learned this the hard way last year - owed $2,800 in taxes on my unemployment benefits. Definitely have them withhold the taxes!

That's helpful to know. I was employed consistently during that period so my wages should be good for calculation purposes.

This is confusing to me because I had some gaps in employment. Will that hurt my weekly benefit amount?

Gaps don't necessarily hurt you - they use your highest earning quarter, so as long as you had good wages in at least one quarter, you should be okay.

Wait, 3.85% per week? That seems really low.

The formula is: (highest quarter wages ÷ 26) × 0.0385. So if your highest quarter was $15,000, that's $15,000 ÷ 26 = $577, then $577 × 0.0385 = $22... wait that's not right. Let me recalculate.

Sorry, I mixed up the formula. It's actually highest quarter wages × 0.0385, then divide by the number of weeks. The calculation varies but typically you get about 47-50% of your average weekly wage.

How long can you collect benefits? I heard it's 26 weeks but wasn't sure if that changed.

Standard is 26 weeks in Washington, but it can be less if you don't have enough work history. They calculate your maximum benefit amount which is 30 times your weekly benefit rate.

That actually sounds about right for your income level. The calculation isn't meant to replace your full salary - it's temporary assistance while you job search.

Easy for you to say when you're not trying to pay a mortgage on unemployment benefits

What counts as a job search activity? Just applying for jobs?

Job applications, networking events, career fairs, informational interviews, creating/updating your resume, online job training courses. WorkSourceWA has a list of approved activities on their website.

This is why I needed to talk to Washington ESD - I wasn't sure if some of my activities counted and didn't want my claim to get flagged.

That's really helpful to know since our salaries are similar. Did you have any issues with the application process?

Filing was pretty straightforward through the Washington ESD website. Just make sure you have all your employment history ready.

How much does something like that cost? Seems too good to be true.

I don't want to get into specifics about cost but it was worth it for me to avoid the stress of constantly calling. Way cheaper than missing work to spend all day trying to reach them.

I couldn't find that calculator on their site. Do you have a direct link?

It might be buried in their tools section. Sometimes their website is hard to navigate. You could also just call them but... good luck with that based on what others are saying here.

thats pretty good! just make sure you file your weekly claims on time or they'll make you start over

Yes, and remember you need to register with WorkSource Washington and do your job search activities. It's 3 job contacts per week minimum.

26 weeks should hopefully be enough time to find something new. Thanks for the reminder though.

Sometimes they extend benefits during economic downturns but don't count on it. Start job searching immediately even while collecting.

Correct. They use wages from 12-15 months ago typically. So recent raises or bonuses might not be included in your benefit calculation.

That seems really unfair. Why wouldn't they use your most recent earnings?

It's because they need complete quarters of data to calculate benefits. The system wasn't designed to be perfectly fair, just consistent.

That makes sense. So if I got a big raise recently it wouldn't affect this claim but would help if I needed to file again later?

Exactly. The base period is set when you file, so recent earnings changes won't impact your current claim but would be included if you filed a new claim later.

What counts as a job search activity? Just applying for jobs or other things too?

Applying for jobs, networking events, career fairs, interviews, even some training activities can count. Check the Washington ESD website for the full list.

I got confused about this and almost got my benefits stopped. The requirements are pretty specific about what activities qualify.

I might try that if I run into issues. Did the agent help clarify your benefit calculation?

Yes, they explained exactly which quarters they used and why my amount was what it was. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person instead of trying to figure it out from the website.

Wow that's a really good amount! Are you required to look for jobs at the same salary level or can you apply for lower paying positions too?

You can apply for lower paying jobs, especially after the first few weeks. Washington ESD understands the job market and doesn't expect you to hold out indefinitely for your previous salary level.

That's good to know. Will that come automatically after I file my initial claim?

Yes, usually within a week or two of filing your claim. It will show all the details of your benefit calculation.

I wasn't planning on working part-time but good to know in case something comes up.

Yeah I learned this when I picked up some freelance work. You have to report any earnings when you file your weekly claim or you can get in trouble for overpayment.

Good point! I didn't think about the tax implications. Is there an option to have taxes taken out automatically?

Yes, you can elect to have 10% federal taxes withheld when you set up your claim. Saves you from a big tax bill later.

I'll definitely check that out. Thanks for all the helpful information everyone!

That calculator helped me a lot when I was deciding whether to file or not. At least gave me an idea of what to expect financially.

Yes, overtime is included in your total quarterly wages for the calculation. Any wages reported to Washington ESD by your employer count, including overtime, bonuses, and commissions.

Great! That should boost my weekly benefit amount then since I had tons of overtime last year.

Good point about the waiting period. I'll make sure I have enough saved to cover that first week.

The waiting period can be confusing - you still have to file a claim for that week, you just don't get paid for it.

26 weeks should be plenty of time to find something new. At least I hope so!

Don't be too optimistic. Job market is rough right now and good paying jobs are hard to find.

That makes sense. So someone making minimum wage might get a higher percentage of their previous pay than someone making $80K?

Exactly. The system is designed to provide more replacement income to lower wage workers who have less savings to fall back on.

You can request a redetermination if you think there's an error. But you'll need documentation of your wages to prove your case. This is another situation where Claimyr helped me - I needed to speak with someone who could look at my wage records.

Thanks, I'll look into that. I have all my pay stubs so hopefully I can get it sorted out.

Good luck with your claim! Just remember to file it as soon as possible since there's usually a one-week waiting period before benefits start.

yeah and dont wait to file thinking you might find a job quickly. better to have the claim open just in case

Good to know! I might do some consulting work while I'm looking for a full-time job.

Yeah, just be honest about any income. Washington ESD will find out eventually through tax records anyway.

While the benefits aren't meant to fully replace your income, they do provide meaningful support during job searches. The work search requirements help ensure people are actively looking for employment.

Sure, if you enjoy wasting time applying for jobs you're overqualified for just to meet their arbitrary requirements.

There's a one-week waiting period for new claims. So if you file in week 1, you won't get paid for that week, but you'll start receiving benefits for week 2 onwards (assuming your claim is approved).

That seems like a long time to wait when you just lost your job and need money for bills.

That's a good point. I was full-time for the whole two years so hopefully that won't be an issue for me.

You should be fine then. The problems usually come up for people with irregular work histories or multiple part-time jobs.

might have to try that. been trying to call about my claim for two weeks with no luck

Yeah, their regular phone system is basically impossible. The service takes care of the calling and waiting for you, then connects you when an agent picks up. So much better than listening to hold music for hours.

Congratulations on getting your claim filed! Most claims are processed without issues, so you should start receiving benefits in about 2-3 weeks.

Good luck! Remember to keep doing your weekly claims even while it's processing.

nice! hopefully you dont run into any problems like i did. but if you do need to call them definitely try that claimyr thing people mentioned

Good to know. I might pick up some part-time work while job hunting so that's useful info.

Yeah you can work and still collect benefits up to a certain amount. Just make sure to report all earnings when you file your weekly claim or you could get in trouble for overpayment.

How long did it take to get your first payment after filing?

About 2-3 weeks for me, but that was with no issues on my claim. If they need to verify anything or your claim goes into adjudication it can take much longer.

This is exactly why I needed to reach Washington ESD - my claim has been pending for weeks and I don't know why. Definitely going to try that Claimyr thing.

Absolutely. I'm hoping to find something quickly but it's good to know what to expect financially in the meantime.

WorkSourceWA has good resources for job searching and skills training if you need ideas for your required job search activities.

That's about what I expected. Better than nothing though while job hunting.

yeah definitely better than nothing just dont count on it being enough for your normal lifestyle

Thanks everyone for all the info! This gives me a much better idea of what to expect.

Glad I could help with the Claimyr suggestion for anyone struggling to reach Washington ESD. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person to get your questions answered.