Washington ESD unemployment benefit amounts 2024 - how much is unemployment worth?
Just got laid off from my restaurant job after 8 years and trying to figure out what to expect from Washington ESD unemployment benefits. I was making about $22/hour working 35-40 hours a week. Does anyone know how much unemployment pays in 2024? I heard it's based on your wages but I can't find clear info on their website about the actual dollar amounts I might get.
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TillyCombatwarrior
Washington ESD calculates your weekly benefit amount based on your highest earning quarter in your base period. For 2024, the maximum weekly benefit is $999 and minimum is $295. Your amount depends on your wages - they take your highest quarter earnings, divide by 26, then you get about 60% of that amount up to the max.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Thanks! So if I made around $11,000 in my best quarter, that would be about $423 divided by 26 = roughly $250 per week? That seems low...
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TillyCombatwarrior
•Actually you've got the math backwards - you divide your highest quarter by 26 first, then take 60% of that. So $11,000 ÷ 26 = $423, then 60% of $423 = about $254 weekly. Yeah it's not great but better than nothing.
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Anna Xian
The weekly amount varies a lot person to person. I was making $28/hour full time and my unemployment is $487 per week. My friend who worked part time retail gets $312. It really depends on your wage history in the base period they use.
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Dyllan Nantx
•How do I find out what my base period wages were? I don't have all my old pay stubs.
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Anna Xian
•When you file your claim, Washington ESD will show you your base period wages. You can also create an account on their website to view your wage history before filing.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
I've been trying to get through to Washington ESD for weeks to ask about my benefit calculation but their phone lines are impossible. Has anyone found a way to actually talk to someone there? I need to understand why my amount seems wrong.
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Rajan Walker
•I had the same problem until I found Claimyr - it's a service that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com, they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Finally got my questions answered after weeks of busy signals.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•Really? I'm so desperate at this point I'll try anything. The automated system just hangs up on me every time.
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Nadia Zaldivar
For 2024, Washington state also has the maximum of 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits. The total you can collect is your weekly benefit amount times 26, but you can't exceed 30% of your total base period wages. So even if you qualify for the max weekly amount, there's still a cap on total benefits.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Wait, so there's a weekly limit AND a total limit? This is getting confusing...
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Nadia Zaldivar
•Yeah, whichever is lower. Most people hit the 26 week limit before the 30% cap, but if you had really high wages in just one quarter, the 30% rule might kick in.
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Lukas Fitzgerald
•I hit that 30% cap because I had one really good quarter with overtime. Only got 18 weeks instead of the full 26. Washington ESD doesn't explain this stuff very well.
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Ev Luca
don't forget you have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits! I made that mistake last year and owed a bunch at tax time. you can have them withhold 10% for federal taxes when you certify each week
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Dyllan Nantx
•Oh great, so the amount is even less after taxes. This keeps getting worse...
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TillyCombatwarrior
•Yeah unemployment is taxable income. Better to have them withhold it than get hit with a big tax bill later.
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Avery Davis
The amounts haven't kept up with inflation at all. I was unemployed in 2019 and got $362/week, now my sister is getting $389 for similar wages. Meanwhile rent has doubled. Washington ESD really needs to update their benefit structure.
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Collins Angel
•At least Washington has higher benefits than most states. I moved here from Idaho where the max was like $450. Still not enough to live on though.
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Avery Davis
•True, could be worse. But try living in Seattle on $400/week. It's brutal.
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Marcelle Drum
Make sure you understand the job search requirements too. You need to do 3 job search activities per week to keep getting benefits. Washington ESD is strict about this - they'll cut you off if you don't meet the requirements.
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Dyllan Nantx
•What counts as a job search activity? Just applying for jobs?
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Marcelle Drum
•Applying, networking events, job fairs, creating profiles on job sites, even some training activities. You have to log everything in WorkSourceWA.
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Tate Jensen
•I got disqualified for not doing enough job searches in my first week. Had to appeal and it took a month to get my benefits back. Don't mess around with this requirement.
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Adaline Wong
The calculation is confusing but here's the simple version: they look at your wages from 5-17 months ago (your base period), find your highest earning quarter, divide by 26, multiply by 0.6. That's your weekly amount, capped at $999.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Why do they use wages from so long ago? That seems weird.
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Adaline Wong
•It's because they need complete quarter data that's been reported by employers. The lag time ensures all wages are in the system.
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Gabriel Ruiz
I'm getting $445/week but I work in tech and had good wages. My neighbor who worked retail gets $298. The restaurant industry wages are usually on the lower end so you'll probably be closer to $300-400 range depending on your exact situation.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Yeah that sounds about right based on what everyone's saying. Better than nothing I guess.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Restaurant work is tough for unemployment because of tip income. Make sure Washington ESD has all your reported tip wages or your benefit amount will be too low.
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Peyton Clarke
Anyone know if the amounts are going up for 2025? I heard they adjust them yearly but can't find info on next year's rates.
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TillyCombatwarrior
•They usually announce the new rates in November or December. Last few years the increases have been pretty small, like 2-3%.
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Vince Eh
•I work for a benefits consulting firm and we haven't seen the 2025 rates yet. Washington ESD is slow to publish them.
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Sophia Gabriel
Just remember you can work part time and still collect some unemployment if you earn less than your weekly benefit amount plus $5. So if you get $400/week, you can earn up to $405 and still get partial benefits.
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Dyllan Nantx
•That's good to know! I might be able to pick up some shifts while job hunting.
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Sophia Gabriel
•Yeah just report all your earnings when you file your weekly claim. They'll reduce your benefit dollar for dollar after that $5 buffer.
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Tobias Lancaster
The whole system is so confusing. I filed 3 weeks ago and still don't know my benefit amount because my claim is stuck in adjudication. Washington ESD's website just says 'pending' with no explanation.
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Rajan Walker
•Adjudication delays are the worst. That's another situation where Claimyr really helps - you can actually get through to ask about your claim status instead of waiting forever. Saved me weeks of uncertainty.
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Tobias Lancaster
•I'll check that out. This waiting around not knowing is killing me financially.
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Ezra Beard
For reference, here's what I found for 2024 Washington unemployment: Min weekly: $295, Max weekly: $999, Max total: 26 weeks or 30% of base period wages (whichever is less), Must meet job search requirements (3 activities/week).
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Dyllan Nantx
•Thanks for the summary! This thread has been really helpful. Now I just need to get my claim filed and see what my actual amount will be.
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Statiia Aarssizan
•Good luck! The filing process is pretty straightforward online. Just have your work history and wage info ready.
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Reginald Blackwell
One more thing - if you disagree with your benefit amount calculation, you can appeal it. I successfully appealed mine when they missed some of my wages and got an extra $50/week. Don't just accept it if the numbers look wrong.
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Dyllan Nantx
•How long does an appeal take?
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Reginald Blackwell
•Mine took about 6 weeks total. You get back pay if you win, so it's worth doing if you think there's an error.
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Aria Khan
The benefit amounts are based on state average wages, so they get adjusted annually. 2024 rates are definitely higher than 2023 but still not keeping up with cost of living in places like Seattle or Bellevue.
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Everett Tutum
•Yeah $999/week sounds like a lot until you realize that's only about $25/hour for full time work. Not much in this state.
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Aria Khan
•Exactly. And most people don't get the maximum anyway. The median benefit is probably around $450-500/week.
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Sunny Wang
Make sure you understand the waiting week too. You don't get paid for your first week of unemployment in Washington. So even if you qualify for benefits, your first payment won't come until week 2.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Wait, there's a waiting week? Nobody mentioned that!
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Sunny Wang
•Yeah, one week waiting period before benefits start. It's been that way for years. Plan your finances accordingly.
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Hugh Intensity
Last tip - set up direct deposit if you can. Paper checks take forever and sometimes get lost in the mail. Direct deposit hits your account within 1-2 business days of processing.
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Dyllan Nantx
•Definitely will do that. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! This thread answered way more questions than the Washington ESD website.
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Rajan Walker
•Glad we could help! And remember, if you run into issues getting through to Washington ESD, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier really does work. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person to sort things out.
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