How much unemployment will I get from Washington ESD - weekly benefit calculation help

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount using your highest earning quarter from your base year. They take that quarter's earnings and divide by 26. So if your highest quarter was $15,000, your weekly benefit would be around $577. The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $999.

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount (WBA) based on your highest earning quarter in your base period, which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. They take your highest quarter earnings and divide by 26, then that amount can't exceed the state maximum (currently $999/week in 2025). So if you made around $38,480 annually at $18.50/hour, your highest quarter was probably around $9,620, which would give you roughly $370/week before taxes.

Thanks! So I need to look at my quarterly earnings from last year? How do I figure out which quarter was my highest?

Yes, check your pay stubs or W-2. Your base year is usually the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. Washington ESD will have your wage records from employers.

You can actually get a rough estimate before you even file by logging into your SecureAccess Washington account and looking at your wage history. That'll show you what quarters Washington ESD has on file for you.

just filed mine last month and the weekly amount was way less than i expected. thought it would be more like 60% of my wages but its more like 40%

That's concerning. I was hoping it would cover most of my bills but if it's only 40% that's going to be really tight.

Just remember you'll need to file your weekly claims every week and meet the job search requirements. Washington ESD requires 3 job search activities per week and you have to log them in WorkSourceWA. Don't forget that part or they'll stop your benefits.

The replacement rate varies depending on your income level. Lower earners get a higher percentage, higher earners get capped at the maximum. It's not a flat 60% for everyone.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask questions about your claim, I found this service called Claimyr that actually got me connected to a real person. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals and being hung up on.

The amount varies so much person to person. I was making $22/hour and only get $285/week because I hadn't worked long enough to build up high quarterly wages. Really depends on your work history.

I've been trying to get through to Washington ESD for a week to ask about my benefit calculation but can never reach anyone. The phone lines are always busy and when I do get through I get disconnected. This is so frustrating when you need answers about your claim.

Also keep in mind that unemployment benefits are taxable income. You can choose to have taxes withheld from your weekly payments or pay at tax time. I'd recommend having them withhold 10% so you don't get hit with a big tax bill next year.

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

Make sure you file your claim as soon as possible. There's a one week waiting period before you start getting paid, and Washington ESD can take a while to process new claims especially if they need to verify anything with your employer.

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

Claimyr actually worked for me too. Got connected to a Washington ESD rep in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own.

The Washington ESD website has a benefit calculator somewhere but I could never find it when I needed it. Their website is confusing AF

Don't forget you can work part-time while collecting unemployment as long as you report the wages. They'll reduce your weekly benefit by a certain amount but you can still collect something if you're only working a few hours.

The minimum weekly benefit amount in Washington is currently $295 and the maximum is $999. Your actual amount depends on your wages during the base year period. Washington ESD looks at your four highest quarters of earnings in the base year.

I've been on unemployment three times and the amount was different each time depending on what I'd earned in the previous year. Your base period matters a lot - if you had a raise recently it might not count toward your benefit calculation yet.

Whatever you do, don't lie or exaggerate anything on your application. Washington ESD cross-checks everything and if they catch you in a lie they can disqualify you and make you pay back everything.

Wait, I thought it was just the highest single quarter? Now I'm confused about how this calculation works.

Sorry for the confusion. They use your highest single quarter divided by 26 for the weekly amount. The four quarters are used to determine if you qualify for benefits at all.

The maximum benefit in Washington is pretty high compared to other states but most people don't get the max unless they were making really good money. At $18.50/hour you'll probably get somewhere in the $350-400 range per week.

If you end up having issues with your claim or need to talk to someone at Washington ESD, seriously check out that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked when I couldn't get through on my own after days of trying.

File online through the Washington ESD website, it's much faster than trying to do it over the phone. The online system walks you through everything step by step.

Make sure you understand the difference between being able and available for work vs being on standby. If you're on standby you might get different requirements. Most people are just regular able and available though.

Don't stress too much about the exact amount until you file and get your determination letter. That'll tell you your exact weekly benefit amount and how many weeks you're eligible for.

Just file as soon as you can and don't overthink it. The sooner you file the sooner you'll know your exact benefit amount and can start planning your budget around it.

One last tip - if you have direct deposit set up it'll get your payments faster than waiting for a debit card in the mail. You can set that up when you file your claim.

This is why the Washington ESD website is so confusing. They should make this clearer.

OP - you can also estimate your benefits using the worksheet on the Washington ESD website. It's not 100% accurate but gives you a ballpark figure before you file your claim.

I'll look for that worksheet. Do you know if it factors in taxes being taken out?

The worksheet gives you the gross amount. You can choose to have taxes withheld when you certify your weekly claims.

be prepared for it to take forever to get your first payment. mine took 6 weeks because of some adjudication thing

Six weeks?! I can't wait that long to start getting benefits. What was the adjudication about?

they wanted to verify my job separation. had to send in documents and wait for them to review everything. was a nightmare

Adjudication delays are common when there are questions about your separation reason. Make sure you have all your termination paperwork ready when you file.

The whole Washington ESD system is broken. I've been waiting 3 months for my claim to get resolved and still haven't received a penny. Meanwhile bills keep piling up.

Three months?! That's insane. Have you tried appealing or getting help from someone?

I've tried everything. Called, emailed, even went to the WorkSource office. Nobody can help speed up the process.

You might want to try Claimyr to get through to a Washington ESD agent who can actually look at your case. Sometimes they can identify issues that aren't obvious from the online account.

Does anyone know if overtime pay counts toward the benefit calculation? I worked a lot of OT last year and wonder if that helps or hurts my weekly amount.

Yes, overtime is included in your base year wages. All wages reported to Washington ESD by your employer count toward the calculation.

Good to know. I was worried they might only count regular hours.

Also remember you have to be able and available for work to keep receiving benefits. The job search requirement is 3 job contacts per week minimum.

I knew about the job search requirement but wasn't sure how many contacts I need to make. Thanks for clarifying.

make sure you keep good records of your job search activities. they can audit you anytime

Just a heads up that if you worked for multiple employers during your base year, Washington ESD will combine all those wages for the calculation.

That's helpful since I had a part-time job for a few months last year in addition to my main job.

One important thing to note - your benefit amount is set when you file your initial claim and won't change even if you get a new job and then become unemployed again during the same benefit year.

So I should make sure to file as soon as possible after my layoff to lock in the calculation based on my recent wages?

Yes, don't delay filing if you're eligible. The base year period keeps moving forward so waiting could actually hurt your benefit amount.

Update: I finally got through to Washington ESD using that Claimyr service someone mentioned. The agent was able to look up my wage records and give me an estimate of $687 per week. Definitely worth trying if you're stuck on hold.

That's a pretty decent weekly amount! I'm going to try Claimyr too since I keep getting disconnected when I call.

Glad it worked for you! The video demo on their site really shows how much easier it makes the whole process.

Still think the whole system needs to be overhauled. Why should we have to use third-party services just to talk to the people handling our claims? Washington ESD should fix their phone system.

I agree the system has problems, but right now we have to work with what we've got. At least there are options to get help.

True, and honestly getting through with Claimyr was way less stressful than spending all day redialing Washington ESD.

For anyone still confused about the calculation, here's the simple version: Take your highest quarter earnings from the base year, divide by 26, and that's your weekly benefit amount (subject to the minimum and maximum limits).

Perfect, that's exactly the clear explanation I needed. Thanks everyone for all the help figuring this out!

glad this thread helped. wish i had known about claimyr when i was dealing with my claim issues. would have saved me a lot of headaches

Same here. I'm feeling much more confident about filing my claim now that I understand the process better.