Washington ESD - how long to file unemployment after losing job?

You should file as soon as possible after losing your job. Washington ESD doesn't pay benefits for the time before you file your claim, so every day you wait is money you're losing. There's no specific deadline, but the sooner the better.

File immediately. Washington ESD has a one-week waiting period anyway, so you won't get paid for your first week of unemployment regardless. But your claim effective date starts when you file, not when you lost your job. If you wait a month to file, you've lost a month of potential benefits.

I had trouble getting through to Washington ESD when I needed to file. Kept getting busy signals and disconnected calls. If you run into that problem, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Made the whole process way less stressful.

definitely file ASAP!!! i waited like 3 weeks thinking i needed to give my employer time to do paperwork or something and found out i basically threw away 3 weeks of money. there's no deadline to file but you're only hurting yourself by waiting

Just to clarify the waiting week situation since there was confusion - Washington state eliminated the one-week waiting period in 2021. You can get paid starting from your first week of unemployment as long as you file your claim and meet all the requirements.

Make sure you have all your paperwork ready before you start filing. You'll need your Social Security number, your employer's information, and details about why you lost your job. Washington ESD's website has a checklist of what you need.

Quick question - do you have to file online or can you still do it over the phone? I'm not great with computers and the website seems confusing.

One more thing to keep in mind - even though there's no hard deadline to file, if you wait too long, Washington ESD might question why you delayed and it could complicate your claim. Better to file within the first week or two after losing your job.

The whole system is so confusing. I wish Washington ESD would just send you a letter or something telling you exactly what to do and when to do it. Instead you have to figure it all out yourself and hope you don't mess something up.

I had to use Claimyr too when I was trying to get through to ask about my claim status. Couldn't get through for days on my own. The service worked exactly like they show in their demo video and I got connected to a real person within a few minutes.

OP, since you just lost your job Friday, you're in a good spot timing-wise. File this week and you'll be able to claim benefits starting from when you lost your job. Don't overthink it - just get the application submitted.

One last tip - after you file your initial claim, you'll need to file weekly claims every week to keep getting benefits. Don't forget about that part or you'll miss out on payments.

Washington ESD is actually pretty good about processing claims quickly compared to some other states. As long as you have all your info ready and file soon after losing your job, you should be fine.

I know this is probably obvious but make sure you're actually eligible for unemployment before you file. If you quit your job or got fired for misconduct, you might not qualify.

If you run into any issues with your claim getting stuck in adjudication or anything like that, that's when services like Claimyr really come in handy. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person to get things sorted out.

The bottom line is just file as soon as you can. There's really no benefit to waiting and you're potentially losing money every day you delay. Washington ESD makes it pretty clear on their website that you should file immediately after becoming unemployed.