How much is unemployment benefits in Washington - confused about my payment amount

That makes sense I guess. I was hoping it would be more though since rent alone is $1200/month.

yeah the amounts are pretty low compared to cost of living here, especially in seattle area

OK that math actually checks out. My best quarter was probably around $9,000 so $350 makes sense now.

Wait I'm confused - is it 3.85% or is there a different formula? My amount doesn't match that calculation at all.

It's actually more complex than that - there are different calculations for high quarter vs. total base period wages, and they use whichever gives you the higher amount. Plus there's a minimum of $295/week.

Never heard of that but I'll check it out. Getting through to Washington ESD is impossible right now.

Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true if they can actually get you through to ESD.

Yeah it's real, they basically call for you and connect you when they get through. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.

Are you stuck in adjudication? That's usually why payments take so long.

no idea what that means but my claim just says pending for weeks now

Adjudication means they're reviewing something about your claim. You should check if there are any issues listed in your account that need attention.

That's frustrating. They really should explain this better when you file.

Did you try to get them to recalculate based on higher wages? I heard you can appeal the amount.

Where do I find that letter? I don't remember getting one.

It should be in your Washington ESD account under correspondence. If not there, it might have been mailed to you.

I never got mine either and had to call to get it resent. Another reason why having a way to actually reach them is important.

Yeah I've been doing that every Sunday. Still figuring out the job search requirements though.

You need 3 job search activities per week minimum. Keep good records because they do audit people.

Really? How much more were you supposed to get?

Turned out they missed some of my wages from a second job. Went from $280/week to $380/week after they corrected it.

OK that's pretty convincing. I might have to try that service too.

26 weeks should be enough time to find something new hopefully.

Depends on your field. Some industries are hiring fast but others are still slow.

Good point. I should probably register with them anyway for the job search requirement.

Yeah WorkSource registration counts as one of your weekly job search activities too.

That's good to know. So I could do some gig work without losing everything?

Exactly, just make sure to report all earnings when you file your weekly claim or you could get in trouble for overpayment.

The overpayment penalties are no joke. They make you pay back everything plus interest.

Yeah you're right. Thanks everyone for explaining how this all works. Really helpful.

Good luck with the job search! The warehouse industry seems to be picking up again.

Already did that thankfully. My first payment should hit my account this week.

Smart move. I waited 3 extra weeks for my first check because it got sent to the wrong address.

You can appeal if you think they made an error in calculating your wages. You'd need to provide pay stubs or tax documents to prove higher earnings.

I appealed mine and won. They had missed wages from a job that reported late to the state. Got an extra $150/week retroactively.

I'm definitely going to try that if I need to call them again. Thanks for the tip.

Wish I had known about that months ago when I was calling hundreds of times trying to fix my claim.