Washington ESD quarters for unemployment - how do they calculate my benefit year?

That makes sense! So they don't count anything from Q1 2025 even though I worked part of January before filing?

Correct, they need complete quarters. If you don't qualify with the standard base period, they can use an alternate base period which includes more recent quarters.

Did you have any trouble with them finding your wages? I had two jobs and I'm worried one might not show up.

yeah actually one of my employers was late reporting wages and it delayed my claim for weeks. you might want to double check that all your wages are in the system

How much does that service cost? I've been trying to call for days but can never get through the phone lines.

It's worth checking out their demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ to see if it would help your situation. Much easier than spending hours on hold with Washington ESD.

They use the first four of the last five completed quarters. So if you filed in January 2025, the five quarters would be Q4 2023, Q1 2024, Q2 2024, Q3 2024, and Q4 2024. They'd use Q1-Q4 2024 as your base period.

Oh that makes more sense! So they skip the oldest quarter. Thanks for explaining that.

That explains why my most recent paycheck wouldn't count toward my benefit calculation. So frustrating but I guess it makes sense from their processing standpoint.

exactly and if you dont qualify with the standard base period they can try the alternate base period which includes the most recent four quarters instead

Did they explain how they calculated your weekly benefit amount? I'm worried mine might be really low too.

They take your highest quarter wages and divide by 26 weeks, then multiply by a percentage. The exact formula is on their website but it's confusing to figure out on your own.

It's because they need complete, reported wage data. Employers report wages quarterly to the state, so that's the cleanest way for Washington ESD to verify your earnings.

I was stressed about this too but once I got through to an agent they explained everything clearly. Getting ahold of someone is the hard part though.

How do you request that? Is it something you can do online or do you have to call?

You can request it through your online account or by calling, but calling is usually faster if you can get through to someone.

That's actually why they have the alternate base period option. If you don't qualify under the standard base period, they'll try using the four most recent completed quarters to see if you qualify that way.

Yeah but you still need to have worked enough in those quarters. If you were unemployed for a long time before filing it doesn't help much.

Yes, that's exactly the situation where Claimyr helped me. I was able to reach an agent who explained my wage calculation and why my claim was taking so long to process.

I tried it last week and got through to someone at Washington ESD within a couple hours instead of days of trying on my own. Definitely worth it when you need answers about your claim status.

If you don't have enough traditional W-2 wages, you might not qualify for regular unemployment benefits. Gig work and cash jobs usually don't count unless taxes were properly withheld and reported.

This is why it's so important to make sure all your work is reported properly. Even part-time W-2 jobs can help you qualify if the hours and wages add up over the quarters.

Wow I never thought about the timing aspect! That's really good to know for anyone reading this who hasn't filed yet.

Yeah the system has all these little quirks that can really affect your benefits. Worth understanding before you file if possible.

The quarter system actually protects claimants in some ways. It ensures they're using verified wage data rather than potentially incomplete information.

I guess that makes sense but it's still confusing as hell when you're trying to figure out if you qualify.

Thanks for the simple breakdown! That's actually really helpful.

Yep and they need at least $1,005 in your highest quarter and total wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter wages across all quarters used.

Washington ESD can access wage data from other states, but it might take longer to process. You should mention out-of-state wages when you file your claim to make sure they're included.

I had the same situation and it added several weeks to my claim processing time. Definitely mention it upfront if you can.

That's a really good point. I should probably double-check that all my employers reported my wages correctly.

Definitely do that. I found out one of my previous employers never reported my wages and it took months to get it sorted out.

Good to hear another success story with that service. I'm going to try it if I can't get through on my own in the next day or two.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful explanations! I feel much more confident about understanding how my benefits were calculated now.