How much unemployment will I receive from Washington ESD?

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount based on your earnings from the highest quarter in your base period. They take that amount and divide it by 26 to get your weekly benefit. The maximum weekly benefit in 2025 is $999 per week. With your salary of $48k, you'd probably qualify for somewhere around $350-450 per week, but it depends on when you worked and how your earnings were distributed.

i think theres also a minimum you have to have earned in your base period to qualify at all. like you need at least $3800 in your highest quarter or something like that. but with 48k you should be fine

The base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed your claim. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at January 2024 through September 2024. Sometimes if you don't qualify using the regular base period, they can use an alternate base period which includes more recent earnings.

Here's something that might help - if you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about your specific benefit calculation, I used this service called Claimyr that actually got me connected to a real person at ESD within like 20 minutes. Way better than sitting on hold for hours. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's even a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your claim.

DON'T FORGET about the waiting week! Washington ESD has a one week waiting period where you file your first weekly claim but don't get paid for it. So even if you qualify for $400/week, your first payment will be delayed by a week. This caught me off guard when I first filed.

Your benefit amount also depends on if you have any part-time work while collecting. If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount minus $5, they'll reduce your benefits dollar for dollar. So if you get $400/week in benefits and work part-time earning $200, you'd get $200 in benefits that week ($400 - $200 + $5 = $205, but they round down).

Another thing to consider is taxes. Your unemployment benefits are taxable income, so you can either have them withhold 10% federal tax automatically or pay it when you file your taxes next year. State of Washington doesn't have income tax so you don't worry about that part.

Here's the thing that sucks - even if you qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount, you're still looking at a significant pay cut from what you were making. At $48k/year you were earning about $925/week gross, so even if you got $450/week in benefits, that's less than half your previous income. Make sure your budget reflects that reality.

Make sure you understand the job search requirements too. You'll need to make at least 3 job search contacts per week and keep a log of your activities. Washington ESD can audit your job search efforts at any time, and if they find you haven't been actively looking for work, they can disqualify you and make you pay back benefits.

Something else to keep in mind - if you have any issues with your claim or need to appeal a decision, the process can take months. I had a friend who had their claim denied initially and it took 12 weeks to get it straightened out through the appeal process. During that time, no benefits.

One more thing - your benefits will last for up to 26 weeks in most cases, but that's assuming you don't find work before then. Some people think they can just collect for the full 26 weeks even if they find a job, but you have to stop claiming as soon as you start working full-time again.

I actually used Claimyr a few months ago when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD about my benefit calculation. The wait times to reach ESD were insane - like 2+ hours if you could even get in the queue. Claimyr got me connected to someone within 30 minutes and I was able to get my exact benefit amount confirmed plus ask about my job search requirements. Definitely saved me a lot of frustration.

Just want to add that the whole process can be really stressful, especially if this is your first time filing for unemployment. Don't be afraid to ask questions and make sure you understand everything. It's better to get clarification upfront than to have problems with your claim later.

Bottom line - with your $48k salary, you're probably looking at somewhere between $350-450 per week in benefits, depending on exactly how your earnings were distributed over your base period. That's a rough estimate, but should give you an idea for budgeting purposes. The actual amount will be calculated automatically when Washington ESD processes your claim.