How to check if I have enough work hours for ESD unemployment before seasonal job ends?

Yes, you can check if you qualify before applying! Washington ESD requires 680 hours of work in your base year (the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you apply). So if you apply in September 2025, your base year would be April 2024 through March 2025. Check your pay stubs or ask your employer for a record of your hours worked during that period. Add them up and see if you reach 680 hours. Remember this includes ALL employment, not just your current seasonal job.

I went through this last year with my seasonal construction job. You can use the ESD benefit calculator on their website to estimate what you might qualify for too. Just add up all your work hours from the last 18 months or so and see if you hit that 680 minimum. One important thing - since you're relocating, make sure you tell ESD that when you apply. You need to be available for work to qualify, but moving for a legitimate reason is usually accepted as long as you're looking for work in your new location.

Don't forget that your employer reports your wages/hours quarterly to ESD, so they already have most of your work history in their system. While there's no official "pre-check" tool, if you're really worried about qualifying, you could try calling ESD directly to ask if you have enough hours on record. I was stuck in this exact situation last year and spent DAYS trying to get someone on the phone at ESD. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an ESD agent in under 25 minutes. The agent was able to look up my hours and confirm I qualified before I submitted my application. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Saved me a ton of stress wondering if I qualified or not.

NONE of this matters if your employer contests your claim!!!! I had MORE than enough hours but my seasonal employer said I was "seasonally laid off with expectation to return" even though I TOLD them I wasn't coming back. Took 6 WEEKS in adjudication hell before they approved my claim. Just be prepared that having enough hours is only PART of qualifying.

hi there i had a seasonal job too at the fair grounds but i didnt have enough hours so i couldn't get benefits :( my friend told me you need like at least 4-5 months of fulltime work to hit that 680 number. do you know how many hours you worked total? might be worth just applying anyway, worst they can say is no right?

To answer your follow-up question - yes, ALL work hours from ANY employer during your base year count toward the 680 requirement. So your garden center job from March-June 2024 would definitely count if you apply in September 2025. One more tip: if you're right on the edge of qualifying, consider waiting until October to apply if possible. That would shift your base year forward by one quarter, which might help if you had more work hours in July-Sept 2024 than in April-June 2024.

i moved last year and applied for unemployment and they made me do extra verification stuff to prove i was actually looking for work in my new city. make sure u keep detailed records of ur job search in spokane! they wanted like names and addresses and phone numbers of places i applied, it was a pain

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I went through my pay stubs tonight and added everything up. Looks like I'm at about 710 hours if I count both jobs from the base year period, so I should qualify! I'll wait until October to apply since that will give me a better quarter in my base year calculation. And I'll definitely keep detailed records of my job search activities in Spokane. Really appreciate all the insights!

Great that you figured out you have enough hours! Just wanted to add one more thing since you mentioned your hours are already getting cut back - make sure to document when your hours were reduced and by how much. If ESD questions whether you're "unemployed" or "underemployed," having records of the hour cuts will help show that the reduction wasn't voluntary on your part. This can be important for seasonal workers whose hours taper off gradually rather than ending all at once.