How to find my unemployment insurance rate calculation in Washington ESD system

Your unemployment insurance rate isn't displayed as a separate percentage - Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount using your base period wages. You can find this in your monetary determination letter that was sent when your claim was approved.

Washington ESD uses a formula based on your highest earning quarter in the base period. They take that amount and divide by 26 to get your weekly benefit rate. There's also a minimum and maximum benefit amount.

If you're having trouble accessing your determination letter online, I had success using Claimyr to get through to Washington ESD directly. They have this service at claimyr.com that helps you actually reach a live agent instead of getting hung up on. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

the rate calculation is stupid complicated. i've been trying to figure mine out for weeks and even the washington esd people give different answers when you call

Your weekly benefit amount is based on about 3.85% of your total base period wages, but there are caps. The minimum is $295 per week and maximum is $999 for 2025. If you made $487 weekly, your base period wages were probably around $25,000-$30,000 total.

I'm in the same boat - got approved but want to understand the math behind it. Found my determination letter finally and it shows my base period earnings but the calculation still seems off to me.

The Washington ESD system is so confusing with all these calculations. I wish they would just show you the exact formula they use instead of making you guess.

Been getting unemployment for 4 months and never thought to question the rate until now. Mine is $536 per week and I have no idea if that's right or wrong lol

For anyone still struggling to get answers about their benefit calculations, I really recommend trying that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier. I was able to get a Washington ESD rep to walk me through my entire determination letter and explain exactly how they calculated my weekly amount. Worth it for the peace of mind.

The unemployment insurance 'rate' isn't really a rate like you'd think of for taxes or interest. It's more like a benefit amount calculation based on your work history. Washington ESD looks at your wages from your base period and applies their formula.

just went through this same thing last week! turns out my 'rate' was actually higher than i thought because i had forgotten about overtime pay from my last job that got included in the base period calculation

Washington ESD really needs to make this stuff clearer. I spent 2 weeks thinking my benefits were calculated wrong before I figured out how the base period works.

Your unemployment insurance rate is basically just your weekly benefit amount. There's no separate 'rate' percentage that gets applied. The weekly amount IS your rate.

I work in HR and deal with Washington ESD calculations all the time. The 'rate' employees get is based on their reported wages during the base period. Higher wages = higher weekly benefit amount, up to the maximum of $999 per week in 2025.

The whole washington esd system is a black box. you put in your info and money comes out but good luck understanding how they calculated it!!

Been trying to figure this out myself. My weekly amount seems low compared to what I was making, but I guess that's just how the system works. At least I'm getting something while I job search.

Just want to mention again that if anyone needs to talk to Washington ESD directly about their benefit calculations, that Claimyr service really works. I've recommended it to several people now and they've all had success getting through to actual representatives who can explain the rate calculations in detail.

For anyone still confused about the 'rate' - think of it as your weekly unemployment payment amount. That's literally what your unemployment insurance rate is. Not a percentage, just the dollar amount you get each week.

Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit using a specific formula based on your highest earning quarter in the base period. They take that quarterly amount, divide by 26, and that becomes your weekly benefit rate. Pretty straightforward once you understand the base period concept.