What determines unemployment pay amount in Washington ESD benefits?

That makes more sense! So it's based on my best quarter, not my total annual salary. Do you know what the maximum weekly benefit is for 2025?

The maximum weekly benefit amount for 2025 is $999 per week in Washington. But most people don't hit the max unless they were earning around $130k+ annually.

If you filed in January 2025, your base period would be October 2023 through September 2024. They look at four complete quarters, not partial ones.

Oh that explains why my benefit amount seemed low! I had a better paying job in late 2024 but I guess that doesn't count.

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr. It's a service that handles the calling for you and gets you connected to Washington ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of frustration.

Is that legit? Sounds too good to be true honestly.

I was skeptical too but it actually worked. They called me back when they got through to Washington ESD and I was able to get my benefit calculation explained in like 10 minutes.

Yeah those calculators are just estimates. The actual calculation involves looking at your specific wage history which can be complicated if you had multiple jobs or gaps in employment.

That's probably why mine was off. I had two part-time jobs during my base period plus some seasonal work.

Yes, overtime counts as regular wages for benefit calculation purposes. Washington ESD includes all reported wages from your employers.

Sweet! That explains why my weekly amount is higher than I expected.

What kind of deductions could there be?

Things like child support garnishments or if you owe Washington ESD money from a previous overpayment. Also if you work part-time while on unemployment they reduce your benefits.

Actually the minimum is $309 for 2025. It gets adjusted annually along with the maximum amount.

Thanks for the correction! I'll let her know she might want to double check her calculation with Washington ESD.

Yes it can change if there's an error in the wage calculation or if new wage information becomes available. You can also request a redetermination if you think your benefits were calculated incorrectly.

Good to know. I think they might have missed some wages from a previous employer.

You should be able to see your wage history in your Washington ESD account online. That shows exactly what wages they used for your calculation.

I looked but it's confusing. Shows wages by quarter but doesn't explain how they got to my weekly amount.

If you need to talk to someone at Washington ESD about your specific calculation, I'd recommend trying Claimyr again. They can get you through to someone who can walk through your wage history step by step.

Yes, commission income counts as wages for unemployment purposes as long as it was reported by your employer on your paystubs and tax forms.

Perfect, that should help my benefit amount since I had some really good sales quarters.

I totally agree! The lack of transparency is frustrating when you're already stressed about being unemployed.

You can request a detailed breakdown from Washington ESD. It's not automatic but they'll provide it if you ask.

Self-employed people generally don't qualify for regular unemployment unless they opted into the state's voluntary coverage program. Most self-employed claims would have been under pandemic programs that have ended.

Ah okay, that makes sense why I didn't qualify when my freelance work dried up.

From an HR perspective, is there anything employees should know about how their wages get reported that might affect their unemployment benefits later?

Make sure your employer is reporting all your wages correctly on your paystubs. Also keep track of your quarterly earnings because that's what Washington ESD uses for calculations.

That's a good perspective. It makes sense that benefits would vary based on your recent earnings rather than being a flat amount for everyone.

Exactly. It's designed to replace about 50% of your average weekly earnings, which seems reasonable for temporary support.

It depends on when the raise happened relative to your base period. If it was recent, it probably won't be included in your calculation since they use completed quarters.

That's kind of unfortunate but I guess it makes sense from an administrative standpoint.

Using quarterly data provides a more stable calculation that accounts for seasonal variations and temporary pay changes. Paystubs can be misleading if someone had unusual earnings right before filing.

I never thought about it that way. I guess quarterly averages would be more accurate than just looking at recent pay.

Same here! Really appreciate everyone taking the time to explain the process.

Glad this helped! And remember if you ever need to actually speak with Washington ESD about your specific situation, Claimyr can save you hours of calling. Super helpful service.