How soon should I file for Washington ESD unemployment after losing my job?

File immediately! There's no benefit to waiting and you could be losing money. Washington ESD has a one-week waiting period anyway, so the sooner you file, the sooner that week starts ticking. Your claim effective date is based on when you file, not when you lost your job.

Definitely file ASAP! I made the mistake of waiting two weeks thinking my employer might rehire me and I lost those two weeks of potential benefits. Washington ESD doesn't backdate claims, so every day you wait is money out of your pocket.

I've been trying to get through to Washington ESD for weeks about my claim status and it's been impossible. If you run into issues after filing, there's this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach a live agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of frustration.

File right away but make sure you have all your employer information correct. I rushed through my application and put the wrong dates and it delayed my claim for weeks while they sorted it out during adjudication.

ugh the washington esd system is such a nightmare. took me 3 tries to get my application submitted because it kept timing out. just keep trying if that happens

Don't wait! I filed the day after I got laid off and I'm glad I did. The whole process takes time anyway - they have to verify everything with your employer and that can take a week or two. Plus you have to do weekly claims every week to get paid.

File today! The system is backlogged enough as it is. I filed immediately when I got terminated and it still took 3 weeks to get my first payment because of some adjudication issue they had to resolve.

File immediately but also be prepared for the runaround. Washington ESD is understaffed and overwhelmed. If you need to actually talk to someone, good luck. That Claimyr thing someone mentioned earlier might be worth looking into if you get stuck.

Whatever you do, don't wait thinking your employer will call you back. Even if they do rehire you later, you can always stop claiming benefits. But if you don't file and they don't call you back, you've lost that time forever.

My brother waited 2 weeks to file thinking he might find something quickly and regretted it. File now, keep looking for work, and if you find something before benefits kick in, great! But at least you'll have the safety net in place.

File TODAY. The Washington ESD website says you should file during your first week of unemployment. Don't overthink it - just get the process started. You can always answer questions later if they come up during processing.

Just to add - make sure you're filing in Washington state if that's where you worked. I almost filed in the wrong state when I moved right before getting laid off and that would have been a huge mess to untangle.