How much will you get from Washington ESD unemployment benefits?
I'm trying to figure out how much I'll actually receive from Washington ESD unemployment benefits. I've been working at a retail job for about 2 years making $18/hour, usually around 35-40 hours per week. I know they calculate it based on your wages but I can't find a clear explanation of the formula. Does anyone know how Washington ESD determines your weekly benefit amount? Also wondering if there's a maximum amount they'll pay regardless of how much you made.
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CyberSiren
Washington ESD uses your highest earning quarter from the past 15 months to calculate your weekly benefit amount. They take that quarter's wages and divide by 26 to get your weekly amount. The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $999 per week, but most people don't hit that unless they were making really good money.
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Ava Thompson
•So if I made around $7,000 in my best quarter, that would be about $269 per week? That seems low compared to what I was earning.
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CyberSiren
•Yeah that sounds about right. UI benefits are designed to replace about 50% of your average wages, so it's always going to be less than what you were making working full time.
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Miguel Alvarez
There's also a minimum benefit amount - I think it's around $295 per week in Washington. So even if your calculation comes out lower, you'd still get at least that much. The whole system is confusing though, took me forever to understand it when I first filed.
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Ava Thompson
•That's actually helpful to know there's a minimum! I was worried I'd barely get anything.
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Zainab Yusuf
•Wait, I thought the minimum was lower than that? When I filed last year I was getting like $267 per week and they said that was the minimum for my situation.
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Miguel Alvarez
•The minimum changes based on your work history too. It's not just one flat amount for everyone - depends on how much you worked in your base period.
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Connor O'Reilly
If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD to ask about your specific benefit amount, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr that helps you actually reach agents on the phone. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Made it so much easier to get my questions answered instead of sitting on hold for hours.
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Ava Thompson
•How does that work exactly? Do they just call for you or something?
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Connor O'Reilly
•They help you get connected to an actual Washington ESD agent instead of getting the busy signal or being stuck in phone tree hell. Way better than trying to call during lunch break and never getting through.
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Yara Khoury
•Sounds too good to be true. How much does something like that cost?
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Keisha Taylor
Your weekly benefit amount is calculated using wages from what's called your 'base period' - typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. Washington ESD takes your highest quarter earnings and divides by 26. They also look at your total base period wages to make sure you meet the minimum requirements. You need at least $3,850 in total base period wages and your highest quarter needs to be at least 1.5 times your lowest quarter.
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Ava Thompson
•This is really helpful! I think I meet those requirements. Is there anywhere I can calculate this myself before filing?
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Keisha Taylor
•Washington ESD doesn't have an official calculator on their website, but you can estimate it if you have your wage statements. Just find your highest earning quarter in the past 15 months and divide by 26.
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StardustSeeker
•I tried calculating mine and got completely different numbers than what Washington ESD gave me. Their system is so confusing.
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Paolo Marino
DON'T TRUST THEIR CALCULATIONS! I filed and they said I'd get $312 per week but then when I actually started getting payments it was only $287. Took weeks of calling to figure out they had the wrong wage information from one of my employers. Always double check everything with Washington ESD because they make mistakes ALL THE TIME.
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Ava Thompson
•That's scary! How did you finally get it corrected?
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Paolo Marino
•Had to submit wage records from my employer and wait for them to do a wage investigation. Took like 6 weeks but I did get the back pay for the difference.
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Amina Bah
•This happened to my brother too. Washington ESD had his wages wrong from his previous job and it took months to fix.
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Zainab Yusuf
just want to chime in that if you were making $18/hour full time you'll probably get around $400-500 per week depending on your exact work history. not great but better than nothing I guess. the real pain is having to do those weekly claims every week and prove you're looking for work
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Ava Thompson
•What's involved in the weekly claims? Do you have to provide proof of job searching every week?
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Zainab Yusuf
•yeah you have to log into the website every week and answer questions about whether you worked, looked for work, etc. and you need to keep records of your job search activities in case they audit you
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Oliver Becker
•The job search requirement is 3 activities per week minimum. Can be applying for jobs, networking, going to job fairs, etc.
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Natasha Petrova
One thing to keep in mind is that unemployment benefits are taxable income. You can choose to have taxes taken out of your weekly payments or pay at the end of the year, but don't forget about it come tax time. I made that mistake my first time on unemployment.
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Ava Thompson
•Good point! I didn't even think about taxes. Do they take out the standard amount or do you have to estimate?
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Natasha Petrova
•They take out 10% federal if you elect to have taxes withheld. Washington doesn't have state income tax so that's not an issue here.
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Javier Hernandez
I've been on unemployment twice in the past few years and the benefit amounts have gone up quite a bit. When I filed in 2022 I was getting around $650/week and when I filed again last year it was $724/week for similar wages. The maximum keeps increasing but so does the cost of everything else so it doesn't really help much.
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Ava Thompson
•At least it's keeping up with inflation somewhat. Better than staying the same for years.
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Emma Davis
•The increases are nice but try living on $650 a week in Seattle. It's barely enough to cover rent let alone everything else.
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Javier Hernandez
•Yeah I had to move back in with family both times. Unemployment benefits just aren't enough to maintain the same standard of living.
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LunarLegend
If anyone is having trouble reaching Washington ESD to ask about their benefit calculation, I had good luck using Claimyr to get through to an actual person. Much easier than trying to call during business hours and getting busy signals. The agents were able to explain exactly how they calculated my weekly amount and why it was different from what I expected.
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Ava Thompson
•I might need to try that. I tried calling yesterday and couldn't even get into the phone queue.
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Malik Jackson
•Same experience here. Used Claimyr after weeks of failed attempts to reach Washington ESD. Finally got answers about my benefit amount and cleared up some confusion about my base period wages.
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Isabella Oliveira
Something else to consider is that if you have any other income while on unemployment, it can affect your weekly benefit amount. Even part-time work or freelance income needs to be reported and they'll reduce your benefits accordingly. The good news is it's not dollar-for-dollar - you can earn a little bit without losing your entire weekly payment.
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Ava Thompson
•How much can you earn before it affects your benefits?
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Isabella Oliveira
•In Washington you can earn up to 1.5 times your weekly benefit amount before you lose eligibility completely. But they start reducing your benefits once you earn more than 25% of your weekly benefit amount.
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Ravi Patel
•This is confusing. So if I get $400/week in unemployment, I can earn up to $600 in a week and still get some benefits?
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Isabella Oliveira
•Exactly, though your unemployment payment would be reduced based on how much you earned. It's designed to encourage people to take part-time work while looking for full-time employment.
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Freya Andersen
been on unemployment for 8 months now and let me tell you the amount they give you is NOT enough to live on. I was making $22/hour before I got laid off and now I'm getting $550/week which sounds ok but after taxes and everything it's barely covering my basic expenses. definitely apply as soon as you're eligible though because the payments are retroactive to when you file not when you get approved
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Ava Thompson
•Good to know about filing right away. I was thinking of waiting until I was sure I qualified but sounds like that would be a mistake.
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Freya Andersen
•yeah definitely file immediately. even if there are issues with your claim you want that effective date to be as early as possible
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Omar Zaki
The formula seems straightforward but Washington ESD's system is anything but simple. I spent months trying to understand why my benefit amount was different from what I calculated. Turns out they had wage information from an employer I forgot about that changed my base period calculation. Always check your wage record when you file to make sure everything is accurate.
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Ava Thompson
•How do you check your wage record? Is that something you can see online?
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Omar Zaki
•When you file your claim, Washington ESD will send you a monetary determination that shows all the wages they have on record for your base period. Review it carefully and contact them if anything looks wrong.
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CosmicCrusader
•I never got a monetary determination when I filed. Should I be worried?
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Omar Zaki
•You should definitely get one. If you didn't receive it, contact Washington ESD to make sure they have your correct address and to request a copy.
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Chloe Robinson
For what it's worth, Washington's unemployment benefits are pretty decent compared to other states. The maximum is higher than most places and the minimum earnings requirements aren't too harsh. Still not fun being on unemployment but at least we're not in a state where the maximum is like $300/week.
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Ava Thompson
•That's a good point. I guess I should be grateful it's not worse.
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Diego Flores
•My cousin lives in Florida and their unemployment benefits are a joke. Makes Washington look generous in comparison.
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Connor O'Reilly
Just wanted to follow up on my earlier comment about Claimyr - I used them again this week to ask about my benefit calculation after getting a confusing notice from Washington ESD. The agent was able to walk me through exactly how they calculated my weekly amount and explain why it changed from my initial determination. Really saved me a lot of stress and confusion.
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Ava Thompson
•That's reassuring to hear it worked well for you multiple times. I'm definitely going to check it out.
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Anastasia Kozlov
•I'm still skeptical about paying for something like this when calling Washington ESD should be free, but I guess if it actually works it might be worth it.
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Sean Flanagan
Bottom line is your weekly benefit amount depends on your work history and wages during your base period. For someone making $18/hour working 35-40 hours, you're probably looking at somewhere between $350-450 per week depending on how consistent your hours were and how long you worked at that wage. Not great but enough to keep you afloat while job searching.
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Ava Thompson
•Thanks for the realistic estimate. That's about what I was hoping for based on everyone's responses here.
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Zara Mirza
•That estimate sounds about right based on my experience with similar wages. The key is filing as soon as possible and making sure Washington ESD has accurate wage information.
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