Washington ESD - how to get more unemployment money if my benefits seem low?

Your weekly benefit amount is calculated based on your highest earning quarter from your base period. Washington ESD uses a specific formula - it's not just your annual salary divided by 52. Check your monetary determination letter to see which quarters they used for the calculation.

had the same problem last year, turns out some of my wages weren't reported correctly by my employer. took months to fix

The maximum weekly benefit amount in Washington is $999 for 2025, but that's only if you were earning around $70k+ annually. If you were making $55k, your benefit should be higher than $362 though. There might be missing wages in your record. You should definitely appeal this - you have 30 days from your monetary determination date.

SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME!!! I was making $48k and they gave me like $280 a week. Turns out my previous employer didn't report my last 3 months of wages correctly. Took forever to get Washington ESD to fix it but I eventually got back pay for the difference.

Check if you had any employers during your base period that might not have reported wages. Sometimes if you worked multiple jobs or had a job change, wages can get missed in the system.

just went through this whole mess myself. you need to file a petition for redetermination. i had to send in all my pay stubs and tax documents. took like 6 weeks but they increased my weekly amount by $180

Important: You can't just 'get more money' beyond what your wages qualify you for. The system is designed to replace about 50% of your average weekly wage up to the maximum. But if there are wage reporting errors, you absolutely should get those corrected.

Washington ESD phone lines are impossible to get through to. I tried for weeks before someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and connects you when they get an agent on the line. Worked great for me when I had benefit calculation issues.

Make sure you're looking at the right base period. Washington ESD uses the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. If you filed in January 2025, they're looking at wages from Q1 2024 through Q4 2024, not your most recent wages from Q4 2024.

honestly the whole system is messed up. i know people making way less than me getting more benefits somehow

If you do file for redetermination, make sure you include ALL documentation. Pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s if you had contract work, and any employment records. Washington ESD will need proof of the wages you're claiming were missed.

Had wage issues too and used that claimyr service someone mentioned earlier. Got connected to Washington ESD within like 20 minutes instead of calling for days. The agent was able to see exactly what wages were missing from my record and told me what documentation to send.

Check your online account to see the wage breakdown by quarter. If any quarter shows $0 or way lower than expected, that's where the problem is.

whatever u do dont wait too long to appeal. i missed the deadline and had to deal with low benefits for my whole claim period

One more thing - if Washington ESD approves your redetermination and increases your weekly benefit amount, you'll get back pay for all the weeks you already claimed at the lower rate. So it's definitely worth pursuing if you believe there's an error.

good luck with this. washington esd moves slow but they do eventually fix wage errors if you have the documentation