What day do you certify for unemployment with Washington ESD weekly claims?

I looked through all my messages and don't see anything specific about which day. Is there a chart somewhere that shows which SSN digits correspond to which days?

Yes, if your SSN ends in 0-1 you certify on Sunday, 2-3 on Monday, 4-5 on Tuesday, 6-7 on Wednesday, and 8-9 on Thursday. You can certify starting at 6 AM on your assigned day.

That's helpful to know! So there's some flexibility if I can't do it exactly on my assigned day.

Just don't wait too long though - if you miss too many weeks in a row Washington ESD will close your claim and you'll have to reopen it.

How does that work exactly? Do they just call for you or something?

They handle the calling process and get you connected when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration trying to reach Washington ESD directly.

Did they make you restart your whole claim or were they able to just add that missed week back?

they fixed it but i had to explain the whole situation and it delayed my payment by like a week

Wait what? So if I certify on Tuesday I'm reporting about the previous week? That seems backwards.

Exactly. If you certify on Tuesday March 11th, you're reporting for the week of March 1-7. It's confusing but that's how Washington ESD does it.

What happens if you make a mistake on one of the questions? Can you go back and fix it?

You usually can't change it once submitted. If it's a significant error you might need to call Washington ESD to correct it, which is why being careful the first time is important.

Good idea about the phone reminder. Do you do it first thing in the morning or later in the day?

I usually do it around lunchtime. Early morning can sometimes be slow because everyone's trying to certify at once.

Try using a different browser or clearing your cache. I had that problem and switching from Chrome to Firefox fixed it for me.

I'll try that, thanks! So frustrating when you're trying to meet the deadline and the system won't cooperate.

You should complete your job searches during the week you're reporting about, not necessarily before you certify. So for the week of March 1-7, do your searches during that actual week.

That makes more sense. I was trying to cram them all in on certification day which seemed wrong.

Good question! I think you can still certify online even on holidays since the website is available 24/7. The payment processing might be delayed but certification should still work.

I've certified on holidays before with no issues. The payments just process the next business day instead.

It's to manage server load and spread out the processing. If everyone certified on the same day, the system would probably crash.

I guess that makes sense from a technical standpoint, but it's still annoying for claimants who forget their assigned day.

Is there a cost for using that service?

They have different options available, but honestly it was worth it just to avoid the frustration of calling Washington ESD repeatedly and getting nowhere.

That's reassuring! I was worried one missed day would ruin everything.

Just don't make it a habit. Washington ESD notices patterns and frequent late certifications can trigger reviews of your claim.

There's a mobile app? I didn't know that existed!

Yeah, search for 'Washington ESD' in your app store. Makes the whole process much smoother on mobile.

Smart idea! I never thought to do that but it makes sense as backup proof.

Definitely going to start doing this. Better safe than sorry with these government systems.

Thanks for the encouragement! Hoping it gets easier once I get into a routine.

It definitely does. The first few weeks are the most confusing, then it becomes just another weekly task.

Good point! I should double-check that everything is up to date in my account.

Especially if you've moved recently. Address changes can sometimes affect your claim if not updated promptly.

You're welcome! Feel free to ask if you run into any other issues with the process.

And remember that Claimyr option if you need to actually talk to someone at Washington ESD. Much less stressful than the regular phone system.

Agreed! The Washington ESD website doesn't explain the day assignments nearly this clearly.

Definitely learned more here in 20 minutes than I did trying to navigate the official site for an hour!