What is Washington ESD unemployment phone number that actually works?
I've been trying to reach Washington ESD for over a week about my unemployment claim and I can't find a phone number that actually gets me through to a real person. Every number I call either has a busy signal or disconnects me after being on hold forever. Does anyone know the actual unemployment phone number for Washington state that works? My claim has been pending for 3 weeks and I really need to talk to someone about what's going on.
62 comments


Kennedy Morrison
The main customer service number is 833-572-8400 but good luck getting through. I've been calling for days and it's always busy or I get hung up on after waiting 2+ hours.
0 coins
Lily Young
•That's the same number I've been trying! It's so frustrating. How are we supposed to fix our claims if we can't even talk to anyone?
0 coins
Wesley Hallow
•Try calling right at 8am when they open. Sometimes you can get in the queue early.
0 coins
Justin Chang
There's also 800-318-6022 for general unemployment questions, but honestly all their phone lines are completely overwhelmed. I spent 4 hours on hold yesterday just to get disconnected.
0 coins
Grace Thomas
•4 hours?? That's insane. There has to be a better way to reach them.
0 coins
Justin Chang
•I wish there was but their callback system doesn't work either. Left 3 messages and never heard back.
0 coins
Hunter Brighton
I actually found something that worked for me - there's a service called Claimyr that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com, they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows exactly how it works. Basically they handle all the calling and waiting for you.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Is this legit? I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point but I don't want to get scammed.
0 coins
Hunter Brighton
•Yeah it's totally legitimate. I was skeptical too but they actually got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes when I'd been trying on my own for weeks.
0 coins
Dylan Baskin
•How much does it cost though? I'm already broke waiting for my unemployment.
0 coins
Lauren Wood
The phone system is completely broken. I've called over 100 times in the past month and only got through twice. Both times the agent couldn't even help me because they said my case needed to be escalated to adjudication.
0 coins
Lily Young
•100 times?! This is ridiculous. How is this even legal?
0 coins
Ellie Lopez
•Same here, my claim has been in adjudication for 6 weeks now with no updates.
0 coins
Grace Thomas
Try the employer services line sometimes - 855-829-9243. Sometimes they can transfer you to the right department if you explain your situation.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Will they really help individual claimants or is that just for employers?
0 coins
Grace Thomas
•Hit or miss but I've had luck with transfers before. Worth a shot when you're desperate.
0 coins
Wesley Hallow
I downloaded an auto-dialer app and set it to keep calling the main number. Took 3 days of constant calling but I finally got through. The key is persistence.
0 coins
Kennedy Morrison
•What app did you use? I need something like that.
0 coins
Wesley Hallow
•I used Auto Redial for Android. There are similar ones for iPhone too.
0 coins
Lily Young
•My phone bill is already crazy high from all this calling. This is getting expensive.
0 coins
Justin Chang
Has anyone tried going to a WorkSource office in person? I'm wondering if that might be faster than the phone nightmare.
0 coins
Chad Winthrope
•I tried that but they said they can't access individual claim files, only help with job search stuff.
0 coins
Justin Chang
•Ugh, of course they can't. This whole system is designed to keep us from getting help.
0 coins
Dylan Baskin
The callback option on their website never works either. I've requested callbacks 5 times over the past month and haven't received a single one.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Same! I keep getting emails saying they'll call within 2 business days but nothing.
0 coins
Paige Cantoni
•I got one callback after 3 weeks but it was from a robot asking me to rate my experience. Like seriously??
0 coins
Hunter Brighton
Just wanted to follow up on the Claimyr thing - I used them again this week to check on my pending weekly claim and got connected in under 30 minutes. Way better than spending all day hitting redial.
0 coins
Lily Young
•I'm going to look into this. I can't keep wasting entire days trying to get through.
0 coins
Kylo Ren
•I tried Claimyr last week too and they got me connected to resolve my ID verification issue. Game changer honestly.
0 coins
Ellie Lopez
The worst part is when you finally get through and they say 'we can't help you with that, you need to speak to a different department' and then transfer you to another 2 hour hold.
0 coins
Lily Young
•This happened to me yesterday! Got transferred 3 times and then got disconnected.
0 coins
Lauren Wood
•They need to fix this system. It's not working for anyone.
0 coins
Kennedy Morrison
I've started calling multiple numbers at the same time using different phones. Sometimes one line will get through when others won't.
0 coins
Lily Young
•That's actually not a bad idea. I have an old phone I could use.
0 coins
Nina Fitzgerald
•Just make sure you hang up the extras if you get through on one. Don't want to clog up the system more.
0 coins
Jason Brewer
Try calling during lunch hours around 12-1pm. Sometimes there's less call volume then and you might get lucky.
0 coins
Lily Young
•I'll try that tomorrow. I've been calling first thing in the morning but maybe midday is better.
0 coins
Wesley Hallow
•I actually had luck around 2pm last week. Weird timing but it worked.
0 coins
Kiara Fisherman
The fraud hotline sometimes answers faster - 844-280-4304. If your issue isn't fraud related they might still be able to help or transfer you properly.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Will they get mad if I call the fraud line for a regular claim issue?
0 coins
Kiara Fisherman
•Just explain your situation. They're usually understanding about the phone issues.
0 coins
Grace Thomas
I keep a log of every time I call with the time, number, and result. After 2 weeks I had 47 failed attempts. This documentation might be useful for complaints.
0 coins
Lily Young
•That's smart. I should start tracking this too in case I need to file a complaint somewhere.
0 coins
Liam Cortez
•Who would you even complain to though? The governor's office?
0 coins
Savannah Vin
My brother used to work in a call center and he said the trick is to call right when they open at 8am sharp or right before they close. Staff levels are usually different then.
0 coins
Lily Young
•What time do they close? I haven't been able to find their exact hours.
0 coins
Savannah Vin
•I think it's 4pm for most departments but it varies. Check their website for specific hours.
0 coins
Kylo Ren
For anyone still struggling with this, I can confirm Claimyr is worth it. Used them twice now and both times got connected quickly. Way less stressful than the endless calling.
0 coins
Lily Young
•I just checked out their website and the demo video. This looks like exactly what I need.
0 coins
Mason Stone
•I'm going to try this too. I'm tired of my whole day being ruined by calling Washington ESD.
0 coins
Makayla Shoemaker
Does anyone know if there's a specific time of day when adjudication specialists are available? Regular agents keep saying they can't help with pending claims.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Good question. My claim is pending adjudication too and nobody seems to know anything about it.
0 coins
Lauren Wood
•I don't think there's a specific time. It's just luck of the draw if you get someone who can actually access adjudication cases.
0 coins
Christian Bierman
The secure messaging system on their website is useless too. I sent a message 10 days ago about my claim status and still no response.
0 coins
Lily Young
•Yeah I tried that too. Got an automated response saying they'd reply within 5 business days but that was 2 weeks ago.
0 coins
Emma Olsen
•I actually got a response to my secure message but it was just generic information that didn't help at all.
0 coins
Lucas Lindsey
Just an update - I finally got through after 3 weeks of trying and they fixed my claim issue in 10 minutes. All that time wasted when the actual fix was so simple.
0 coins
Lily Young
•That's so frustrating that it took 3 weeks to get 10 minutes of help. This system is broken.
0 coins
Hunter Brighton
•This is exactly why services like Claimyr exist. The system forces people to waste weeks of their time for simple fixes.
0 coins
Lily Young
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'm going to try Claimyr since the regular phone numbers clearly aren't working. I'll update this thread if it works for me.
0 coins
Sophie Duck
•Good luck! Hope you get your claim sorted out soon.
0 coins
Hunter Brighton
•You should have good results with Claimyr. Let us know how it goes!
0 coins