How much is unemployment per week 2025 Washington ESD benefits?

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount using your highest earning quarter from your base period. For 2025, the maximum weekly benefit is $999 and minimum is $342. They take your highest quarter earnings, divide by 26, then that's roughly your weekly amount up to the max.

Thanks! So if I made $13k in my highest quarter that would be $500 weekly? That actually sounds pretty reasonable.

Exactly right! And you can get up to 26 weeks of benefits typically, though it depends on your total base period earnings.

been trying to get through to washington esd for 2 weeks to ask about my benefit calculation and its impossible to reach anyone. their phone system just hangs up on you after hours of waiting

I had the same problem until someone told me about Claimyr - it's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com, they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

never heard of that but willing to try anything at this point. washington esd phone system is absolutely broken

Claimyr actually worked for me last month when I needed to talk to someone about my job search requirements. Way better than spending entire days calling.

The 2025 rates went up from last year. I think minimum is now $342 and max is $999 like someone said. But you also have to meet work search requirements which is 3 job contacts per week minimum.

Good to know about the work search stuff. Do they audit those job contacts or just trust you're doing them?

They can audit them randomly and if you can't prove your job searches you'll get disqualified and have to pay everything back.

Wait I'm confused about the calculation. Is it really just highest quarter divided by 26? Because I made $15k in my highest quarter last year but my weekly benefit was only $480, not $576 like that math would suggest.

There might be other factors involved or your calculation might be based on different quarters. You should check your monetary determination letter from Washington ESD to see exactly how they calculated yours.

I never got a monetary determination letter! Should I have received one automatically when I filed?

Yes definitely. You should call Washington ESD to get a copy or check your SecureAccess Washington account online.

IMPORTANT: The benefit year runs from when you first file your claim, not calendar year. So if you file in March 2025, your benefit year runs March 2025-March 2026. Also your base period for earnings calculation uses quarters from 15 months before you file, not recent quarters.

Whoa that's confusing. So if I file now in January 2025, they're looking at my earnings from like October 2023-September 2024?

Exactly! That's why some people get shocked by low benefit amounts - they expect it to be based on their most recent earnings but it's actually much older.

This is why I always tell people to check their quarterly wage reports online before filing. You can see what Washington ESD has on file for your earnings.

For anyone struggling to get through to Washington ESD about benefit calculations, I used Claimyr last week and got connected to an agent in under 20 minutes. They explained my whole monetary determination and why my amount was what it was.

How much does that cost though? Seems like something Washington ESD should provide for free.

It's worth it when you consider how much time you save vs calling yourself. Plus they actually get you to someone who can help.

don't forget you also have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits. it's not like you get the full amount deposited

Wait really? How much gets taken out for taxes?

you can choose to have 10% federal tax withheld but no state tax in washington. or you can get the full amount and pay taxes when you file your return

I always have them withhold the 10% because I don't want a huge tax bill next year. Better to get less each week than owe thousands later.

The system is so confusing! I've been trying to understand if overtime hours count differently in the calculation or if they just use your total quarterly wages.

They use your total quarterly wages reported by your employer, so overtime is included the same as regular hours. It's all just gross wages to them.

That's actually good news for me then since I worked a ton of overtime in my highest quarter.

Can someone explain what happens if you work part time while collecting unemployment? Do they reduce your weekly benefit amount?

Yes, if you earn more than your weekly benefit amount minus $5, they start reducing your unemployment payment. You have to report all earnings when you file your weekly claim.

So if my weekly benefit is $500 and I earn $400 from part time work, I'd still get $105 in unemployment benefits?

Not quite - they deduct earnings over $495 ($500 minus $5) dollar for dollar. So you'd get your full $500 unemployment since you earned less than $495.

Has anyone had issues with Washington ESD calculating benefits wrong? I swear my amount should be higher based on what I earned.

Calculation errors do happen. You need to request a redetermination if you think it's wrong. But first get a copy of your monetary determination to see exactly what wages they used.

How do I request a redetermination? Is that something I can do online?

You typically need to call Washington ESD or submit a written request. This is another case where Claimyr might help since you need to actually talk to someone about your specific situation.

just want to add that the $999 max weekly benefit is actually pretty good compared to some other states. at least washington tries to replace a decent percentage of your income

True but if you were making $80k+ annually the max still doesn't replace much of your actual income. Better than nothing though!

yeah the system definitely favors lower and middle income workers more than high earners

One thing to watch out for - if you quit your job voluntarily you might not qualify for benefits at all, regardless of what the weekly amount would be. You generally need to be laid off or terminated through no fault of your own.

What about if you quit for a really good reason like unsafe working conditions or harassment?

There are some exceptions for 'good cause' but you'd need to prove it and it goes through adjudication. Much more complicated than a straightforward layoff.

I quit due to my boss sexually harassing me and still got approved for benefits after providing documentation. It took 6 weeks of adjudication though.

For 2025 you also need to make sure you're actively searching for work and keeping detailed records. Washington ESD has gotten stricter about enforcement since the pandemic ended.

What kind of records do they want? Just a list of where you applied?

Job search log with company names, dates, positions applied for, and method of contact. Keep emails, application confirmations, everything.

They also want you to register with WorkSourceWA and create a resume on their site. It's all connected to your unemployment claim now.

Bottom line - if you're making around $50k annually you'll probably get somewhere between $400-600 weekly depending on your exact earnings pattern. Not enough to maintain your lifestyle but enough to survive while job hunting.

That's about what I was expecting. Better to know now so I can plan accordingly if I need to file a claim.

Just remember it's temporary help, not a permanent solution. The max 26 weeks goes by faster than you think when you're job searching.