What is full unemployment Washington ESD - confused about eligibility requirements

Full unemployment basically means you're completely out of work - no job, no hours, no income from employment. It's different from partial unemployment where you might be working reduced hours or have some part-time work. When you're fully unemployed, you're eligible for your full weekly benefit amount as long as you meet all the other requirements like being able and available for work.

The key thing with full unemployment is that you can't be earning ANY wages during the week you're claiming. Even if you work just a few hours, Washington ESD considers that partial unemployment and your benefits get reduced. I learned this the hard way when I picked up a one-day gig and forgot to report it.

I was struggling with getting through to Washington ESD for weeks about my claim status - kept getting busy signals and disconnected calls. Finally found this service called Claimyr that basically calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. Game changer honestly. You can check it out at claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing exactly how it works. Made dealing with all my unemployment questions so much easier.

To add to what others said - full unemployment also means you have to be actively searching for work and available to accept suitable employment. You can't just sit back and collect. Washington ESD requires job search activities and you need to log them in your WorkSourceWA account. The number of required activities depends on your local unemployment rate.

ugh the whole system is so confusing! why can't they just make it simple - you have a job or you don't. all these partial vs full unemployment distinctions just make everything more complicated than it needs to be

One thing to watch out for with full unemployment - if you do ANY volunteer work that could theoretically be paid work, you need to report it. I got dinged for volunteering at a nonprofit doing bookkeeping because Washington ESD said it was 'work' even though I wasn't getting paid. The rules are stricter than you'd think.

The other thing about full unemployment is that your benefit amount is based on your earnings history. Washington ESD looks at your highest quarter earnings in your base period to calculate your weekly benefit amount. So even though you're 'fully' unemployed, your actual payment depends on how much you were making before.

just wanted to say thanks for asking this question - I was wondering the same thing but felt dumb asking lol. this thread helped clarify things for me too

One more thing about Claimyr since it came up - I used them again last week when I had questions about my job search requirements. Super helpful for getting specific answers instead of trying to figure everything out from the website. The agents they connect you to actually know what they're talking about.

Just to summarize for anyone else reading this - full unemployment in Washington means: 1) You're completely out of work with no earnings, 2) You're able and available for work, 3) You're actively seeking employment, and 4) You meet all other eligibility requirements. If any of those change, you need to report it on your weekly claim.

Quick question - if I'm on full unemployment but then get offered a temporary job for like a week, do I need to stop my claim entirely or can I just report the work and restart after?

washington esd makes everything so complicated. been trying to call them for days about my claim and keep getting hung up on. might try that claimyr thing someone mentioned

Does full unemployment status affect how long you can collect benefits? I know there's a maximum number of weeks but wasn't sure if working part-time vs not working at all made a difference in the timeline.

I've been fully unemployed for 8 weeks now and starting to get really anxious about finding work. The pressure to do job search activities every week while dealing with the stress of no income is honestly overwhelming sometimes.

Pro tip for anyone new to full unemployment - set up direct deposit ASAP if you haven't already. Waiting for paper checks just adds unnecessary stress and delay to an already difficult situation.