Washington ESD unemployment increasing during economic downturn - claim processing delays?

That makes sense. I just hope they staff up to handle the increase. Can't afford to wait much longer.

WARN notices are supposed to give 60 days advance notice but companies are still laying people off with minimal warning.

6-8 weeks?? That's terrifying. I can't wait that long to pay my mortgage.

The system has improved since 2008 but yeah, high volume still causes delays. Keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting for adjudication.

I found this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.

Interesting, I'll check that out. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get answers about my claim.

True but that doesn't help those of us who need our benefits processed now. The bills don't wait for economic recovery.

Exactly. Washington ESD needs to scale their operations better for these predictable cycles.

Are there any good retraining programs available while on unemployment? I need to update my skills before this recession gets worse.

Yes, check WorkSource Washington for approved training programs. You can often get additional weeks of benefits while in approved training.

That gives me hope! Did they give you any explanation for the delay or did it just suddenly clear?

No explanation, just got the approval notification one morning. The waiting is the worst part but it did eventually process.

At least we don't have the fraud issues and system crashes like 2020. The delays are frustrating but the system is functioning.

Small comfort when you can't pay rent. They need better surge capacity planning.

Yeah but Washington ESD specifically has had chronic understaffing issues even in good times. This just makes it worse.

True, but they have made improvements to their online systems. At least we can file claims and check status online now.

Was it worth the cost? I'm getting desperate to talk to someone about my claim status.

For me yes, because I got answers and knew what I needed to submit. Better than calling for weeks with no luck.

Good reminder. How many job contacts do we need per week right now? I thought they reduced it during high unemployment periods.

Still 3 job search activities per week in Washington. They haven't changed that requirement despite the economic conditions.

Yes! It took me 20 minutes just to log my job search activities yesterday. Everything is sluggish.

They really need to upgrade their infrastructure. This isn't sustainable.

That's great news! What was causing your delay if you don't mind sharing?

They needed to verify my last employer's response to their separation inquiry. Once that was submitted, it moved quickly.

That's depressing but probably realistic. I hope they're hiring more staff to handle the long-term increase.

They should also be improving their technology infrastructure. The current system clearly can't handle this volume efficiently.