What is the maximum unemployment benefit amount in Washington?

Thank you! That's higher than I expected. Do you know how they calculate if you qualify for that amount?

It's based on your wages during your base year. Washington ESD looks at your four highest earning quarters and uses a formula to determine your weekly benefit amount.

Washington has one of the higher maximum benefit amounts in the country. The cost of living here is also pretty high, especially around Seattle, so it balances out somewhat.

Yeah but most people don't actually get the maximum. You have to have been making really good money to qualify for $999/week.

I had the same issue until I found Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through to an actual Washington ESD agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling.

Good point. I was making about $85k annually so I'm curious what my actual benefit would be.

At $85k annually, you'd probably qualify for somewhere in the $650-750 range per week, depending on how your earnings were distributed across quarters.

The $999 is just the regular state unemployment insurance benefit. There aren't any additional federal benefits right now like there were during COVID.

Thanks for clarifying. I was confused about whether any federal programs were still active.

Where do I find that calculator? I looked on the Washington ESD site but couldn't locate it.

It's under the 'File a Claim' section. You have to dig around a bit to find it unfortunately.

Adjudication can take a while, especially if there are any questions about your work history or reason for separation. What does your online account show?

It just says 'adjudication in progress' with no other details. I've tried calling but can never get through to ask questions.

That's exactly the situation where Claimyr helped me. I was stuck in adjudication for weeks and needed to talk to someone at Washington ESD to understand what was holding things up.

what's standby? is that different from regular unemployment?

Standby is when you're temporarily laid off but expect to return to your job within a specific timeframe. The benefit calculation can be the same but the requirements are different.

They adjust the maximum benefit amount annually based on average wages in the state. It's been increasing over the past few years as wages have gone up.

That makes sense. Cost of living keeps going up so unemployment benefits should too.

The duration is separate from the weekly amount. In Washington, you can typically collect for up to 26 weeks, regardless of your weekly benefit amount.

Good to know, thanks. So someone getting $999/week and someone getting $300/week both get the same number of weeks?

Correct, assuming they both have enough work history to qualify for the full 26 weeks.

Agreed! The website is not user-friendly at all. You have to be a detective to find basic information.

And when you finally find a phone number to call for help, you can never actually reach anyone!

That's a good point. How much can you earn before it affects your benefits?

In Washington, you can earn up to your weekly benefit amount plus $5 before they start reducing your unemployment payment. So if your benefit is $500/week, you could earn up to $505 in wages without reduction.

The base period is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. So if you file in January 2025, your base period would be January 2024 through December 2024.

Ok that makes more sense. So they're not looking at your most recent paychecks, but quarters from a while back?

Exactly. There's also an alternate base period they can use if you don't qualify under the standard one, which looks at more recent quarters.

You'd need to have earned at least $19,980 in your highest earning quarter during your base period. That works out to roughly $80k annually if your income was consistent across all quarters.

Wow, so you need to be making pretty good money to max out the benefits. Makes sense though.

Same here! I ended up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier and finally got answers from an actual Washington ESD representative. Worth checking out if you're as frustrated as I was.

I might have to try that. I'm tired of getting nowhere with the regular phone system.

Good reminder. I need to make sure I'm logging those activities properly in the system.

Yeah, they can disqualify you for benefits if you don't meet the job search requirements, even if everything else is in order.