What is the max unemployment amount Washington ESD pays weekly?

Thanks! That's higher than I expected. How do they calculate what quarter counts as your highest earning quarter?

They look at the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed your claim. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at Q1 2024 through Q4 2024.

The maximum gets adjusted every year based on the state's average weekly wage. It was $884 in 2024, but it increased to $999 for 2025 claims.

oh that makes sense why she got less then

I had the same problem until I found Claimyr (claimyr.com). They basically call Washington ESD for you and get you connected to an actual agent. I was skeptical at first but watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ) and decided to try it. Got through to someone within a few hours instead of spending days trying to call myself.

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

They focus on just getting you connected rather than charging a lot. Way better than wasting hours on hold or getting disconnected constantly.

What's the difference between regular unemployment and standby? I keep seeing that term mentioned.

Standby is when your employer expects to recall you within a specific timeframe, usually within 4 weeks. If you're on standby status, you don't have to do the job search activities but you still need to be available for work and file weekly claims.

I was on standby for 6 weeks last year and it was so much easier than regular UI. No job search log to worry about.

Close! You need to have earned at least $5,265 in your entire base period AND at least $1,755 in your highest earning quarter to qualify for any unemployment benefits in Washington.

Thanks for the correction! I knew there was a minimum but couldn't remember the exact amounts.

Washington doesn't have dependent allowances for unemployment benefits. The maximum weekly benefit is $999 regardless of whether you have children or not.

Bummer, but good to know. Thanks!

Yes! I had wages from Oregon and it took like 8 weeks to get my claim approved. The adjudication process for interstate wages is brutal.

8 weeks?! That's crazy. Did you end up getting backpay for the whole time?

Eventually yes, but it was stressful not knowing if it would get approved. I should have used something like Claimyr to talk to someone and get updates on the process.

I mean, the point is to encourage people to find work quickly rather than staying on unemployment forever. But yeah, some of the processes are unnecessarily complicated.

There's a difference between encouraging work and making it impossible to get benefits you're entitled to. The phone system alone is ridiculous.

It doesn't matter if you were part-time or full-time, just what your total earnings were. If you made enough in your highest quarter ($74,925) you could qualify for the maximum even if it was from multiple part-time jobs.

Good to know! I had two part-time jobs that together paid pretty well so maybe I'll qualify for more than I thought.

Ugh I didn't think about taxes. Is it better to have them withheld or pay quarterly?

I always have them withheld. It's 10% federal tax withholding and Washington doesn't have state income tax, so at least that's one less thing to worry about.

That's assuming you don't find work before then. Most people don't stay on unemployment for the full 26 weeks.

True, but it's good to know what the maximum potential is for planning purposes.

That usually happens when they get additional wage information or if there was an error in the initial calculation. Sometimes employers report wages late and it changes your benefit amount.

It went up in my case so I'm not complaining, but it was confusing getting that letter.

This is so important. I've seen people get overpayment notices because they didn't report all their wages or reported them incorrectly.

Exactly. And overpayment notices are a nightmare to deal with. Much better to get it right the first time.

For a March 2025 claim, they'd look at Q4 2023, Q1 2024, Q2 2024, and Q3 2024. Those are the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed.

So they don't look at Q4 2024 even though it's more recent?

Right, because they need completed quarters. Q4 2024 would be the fifth quarter back, and they only use that if you don't qualify using the standard base period.

That's why services like Claimyr exist. Sometimes you just need to talk to an actual person who can look at your specific situation instead of trying to figure it out from generic website information.

I might have to try that. I've been going in circles trying to understand my benefit calculation.