What are the minimum and maximum amounts of money an individual can receive for Washington ESD unemployment?

Thanks! So even with part-time work I should get at least $295? That would really help with my rent.

Well, you have to meet the minimum earnings requirement first. You need at least $3,718 in your base period to qualify for any benefits at all.

Your friend might have been getting a reduced amount due to working part-time while claiming, or maybe they filed under a different program. The base minimum for regular UI is definitely $295.

Could have been standby benefits which are calculated differently than regular unemployment.

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr.com - it's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I was skeptical at first but it worked, got through in like 20 minutes. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Really? That sounds too good to be true. How much does it cost?

It's worth it when you're stuck in limbo for weeks. Way better than wasting hours every day hitting redial.

This is confusing - so they don't just look at my total annual income? I thought it would be simpler than that.

No, it's quarter-based. So if you had inconsistent work throughout the year, it might help or hurt you depending on when your higher earning periods were.

Yeah the base period thing tripped me up too. I made decent money in Q1 and Q2 but barely worked Q3 and Q4, so my calculation was based on the good quarters thankfully.

It gets adjusted annually. The $999 maximum is for 2025. It was lower in previous years.

Thank god, I was calculating based on the old numbers and was really worried about making ends meet.

Good to know! I might pick up some gig work if I can't find full-time employment right away.

Just make sure you report all earnings on your weekly claim or you could face an overpayment situation later.

Standby benefits use the same calculation as regular UI benefits. The difference is you don't have to do job search activities while on standby since you have a definite return-to-work date.

That's a relief. I was worried standby would pay less than regular unemployment.

If you file now in 2025, they'd typically look at Q1-Q4 of 2024 as your base period. But if you didn't work much in 2024, you might be able to use an alternate base period which would look at more recent quarters.

Oh that might help me then since my 2024 earnings were pretty low. How do I request the alternate base period?

Washington ESD usually automatically considers the alternate base period if you don't qualify under the standard one. But you can also request it when you file your initial claim.

Because everyone's situation is different and they want to base it on your actual work history, not just guess.

I get that but other states have benefit calculators online. Washington ESD should really add one to their website.

That's actually really encouraging. I've been putting off filing because I assumed I wouldn't get enough to matter.

Yeah don't assume! Even if it's just a few hundred a week, that's better than nothing while you're job hunting.

Good point! I forgot about that. You can have 10% federal tax withheld when you file your weekly claims.

Washington doesn't have state income tax so at least you only have to worry about federal taxes.

Same here! I've been trying for two weeks to get answers about my pending claim. Someone mentioned Claimyr earlier - has anyone actually used it successfully?

I used Claimyr last month when my claim was stuck in adjudication. Got through to an agent in about 15 minutes and they were able to tell me exactly what was holding up my claim. Definitely worth checking out their site at claimyr.com if you're having trouble getting through.

I'm getting desperate enough to try anything at this point. Thanks for the recommendation.

No, they combine all your wages from all employers during the base period. So having multiple jobs could actually help you if it means higher total quarterly earnings.

That's good news! I was worried they'd only count one job or something.

Thanks for the clear summary! It's helpful to have the current numbers in one place.

This whole thread has been super helpful. I feel much more confident about filing my claim now.

What about people who did both W-2 work and 1099 contract work? Does that complicate things?

They'll count your W-2 wages toward regular UI eligibility, but the 1099 income typically doesn't count unless you paid into the system as self-employed.

Standard unemployment benefits last up to 26 weeks in Washington, but it depends on your work history and the amount you've earned. Some people qualify for fewer weeks.

26 weeks should be enough time to find something new. That's actually pretty generous.

Just remember you have to keep doing your job search activities and filing weekly claims to keep getting paid. It's not automatic.

Severance can affect your unemployment benefits depending on how it's structured. You might want to talk to Washington ESD about how it impacts your claim.

Yeah I'm worried it might delay when I can start collecting. Another reason I need to actually get through to someone there.

You'd need to be earning around $65,000+ annually with consistent quarterly wages to hit the maximum. Most people get somewhere in the middle range.

I got close to the max when I was laid off from my tech job. The benefit really helped bridge the gap while I was interviewing.

Good for you! The sooner you file, the sooner you can start getting benefits. There's usually a one-week waiting period before payments start.

Same here - I'm going to file this week. This discussion really helped clarify things for me.

Good advice! I made a typo in my employer's address and it took weeks to get it corrected. Had to use that Claimyr service mentioned earlier just to reach someone who could help fix it.

Exactly - prevention is better than trying to fix problems later with their phone system being so overloaded.