Washington ESD benefits for temporary unemployment experienced by people changing jobs - what's it called?

This is called 'transitional unemployment' or 'frictional unemployment' in economic terms. For Washington ESD purposes, it's just regular unemployment insurance (UI) as long as she meets the eligibility requirements. The key is that she didn't quit without good cause - having a confirmed start date that got delayed should qualify her.

I was in the exact same situation last year when my job offer got delayed. Washington ESD approved my claim but it took forever to get through to someone to explain the situation. The phone lines are impossible.

The formal term economists use is 'frictional unemployment' - it's the natural unemployment that occurs when people are between jobs. But yeah, for Washington ESD it's just standard UI benefits.

Make sure she's documenting everything about the delayed start date. Washington ESD might ask for proof that the job offer was legitimate and the delay wasn't her fault. Email confirmations, offer letters, anything showing the original start date and the delay.

ugh the washington esd system is so confusing with all these different terms. why can't they just make it simple??

I think there might be special rules for people who quit to take another job. She needs to be careful about how she explains the separation from Microsoft. Voluntary quits can be tricky.

happened to my friend too when her startup job fell through. took 2 months to get approved cause washington esd kept asking for more paperwork

One important thing - she needs to be available and actively seeking work even though she has a job starting in March. Washington ESD requires job search activities during the benefit period.

Just wanted to follow up on the Claimyr thing - it was seriously a lifesaver for getting through to Washington ESD. I was spending hours every day trying to call and getting nowhere. With Claimyr I got connected in like 30 minutes.

For academic completeness, the three types of unemployment are frictional (between jobs), structural (skills don't match available jobs), and cyclical (economic downturns). Your sister's situation is textbook frictional unemployment.

Another heads up - if Amazon pushes back the start date again, she should notify Washington ESD immediately. Changes in employment status can affect benefit eligibility.

the whole system is set up to make it hard to get benefits. like why do they make you jump through so many hoops when you already paid into the system

Update: My sister tried calling Washington ESD again this morning and actually got through! The agent confirmed that her situation qualifies for regular UI benefits and that having documentation of the delayed start date was helpful. Thanks everyone for the advice!

This thread was super helpful. I'm in a similar situation with a job starting in April. Going to file for Washington ESD benefits tomorrow.

Just to recap for anyone else in this situation: it's called frictional unemployment academically, but Washington ESD treats it as regular UI. Key things are documenting the job offer, the delay, and continuing to meet all eligibility requirements including job search.