How much is my unemployment benefit amount in Washington state?

Thanks! So they don't just look at my most recent job? That's confusing because I had a better paying job earlier in the year.

Exactly - they look at all covered employment in your base period, not just your most recent job. That's probably why your amount is higher than expected.

Did they charge you for that service? I've been trying to call Washington ESD for days about my calculation.

Yeah there's a fee but honestly worth it to actually talk to someone instead of being on hold forever or getting disconnected.

I used them too last month when I had questions about my adjudication. Way better than trying to get through on your own.

That makes more sense now. I had a really good quarter in spring 2024 that must be what they used.

Wait so if I just started a new higher paying job but only worked there 2 months before getting laid off, they won't count those wages?

@profile5 Correct, those wages would be in the lag quarter and wouldn't count toward your base period calculation. You'd need to work longer to get those wages included.

I get the frustration but there's a reason - they need time to collect and verify wage data from employers. It's not perfect but it's consistent.

Still doesn't make it right when someone was making $25/hour but gets benefits based on when they made $15/hour.

Good to know there's a max - I was wondering if there was a cap on benefits.

yeah and dont forget you can get up to 26 weeks of regular UI benefits in washington

They add ALL wages from ALL employers in each quarter, then use the quarter with the highest total wages for the calculation.

Oh that's actually better than I thought! I was worried they'd only count one job.

Same here - I had two part time jobs so I was freaking out thinking they'd only count one of them

Yes, all wages reported to Washington ESD count including overtime, bonuses, commissions, etc. As long as unemployment taxes were paid on it.

Sweet! That explains why my benefit amount was higher than I expected.

Absolutely! You can file a wage protest if you think your wages were reported incorrectly. Washington ESD will investigate and contact your employer to verify.

Good to know, thanks! I'll double check my wage statement against my pay stubs.

I had to do this once - took about 3 weeks but they corrected my wages and increased my benefit amount

That's helpful - I might pick up some part time work while job searching.

Just make sure to report any earnings on your weekly claim or you could get in trouble for overpayment

Yeah that letter was confusing! All those numbers and quarters - I had no idea what it meant.

lol same here took me forever to figure out what base period even meant

I only worked in Washington so that doesn't apply to me, but good info for others!

I wish I had known about this earlier - I worked in Oregon for part of my base period

You might still be able to get it corrected if it's not too late to file a wage protest

I'm not on standby, just regular unemployment benefits, but thanks for the info!

Good point - standby is for temporary layoffs where you expect to be called back

I might have to try that if I have more questions. The phone system is so frustrating.

Same experience here - way better than trying to get through yourself

If you exhaust your current claim and need to file a new one later, they'll recalculate using your new base period which would include more recent wages.

That makes sense - so it could go up if I was making more money in the newer base period.

Agreed! I feel much better about my benefit amount now that I understand how they calculated it.

This forum is so much more helpful than trying to navigate the government websites