What is the phone number to the Washington ESD unemployment office?

The main Washington ESD customer service number is 833-572-8400. But fair warning - you're going to be on hold for hours. I called at 8am sharp when they opened and still waited 3.5 hours to talk to someone.

I've been calling that number for weeks and either get disconnected or told to call back later due to high call volume. It's so frustrating when you need help with your claim!

Actually, I found something that worked for me when I was having the same problem. There's a service called Claimyr that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked - they called me back within a few hours instead of me sitting on hold all day. Check out claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

There's also 800-318-6022 which is supposed to be for technical issues with your account, but sometimes they can help with general claim questions too. Worth trying both numbers.

honestly the phone system is broken. i've called probably 50 times in the past month and gotten through maybe twice. most of the time it just says call back later and hangs up

I had success calling the 833 number around 4:30pm on a Wednesday. Seems like late afternoon sometimes has better luck than mornings. Only waited about 45 minutes that time.

Another option is the live chat on the Washington ESD website, but that's also usually unavailable when I try to use it. Sometimes you can submit a message through SecureAccess Washington (SAW) but they take forever to respond.

I used Claimyr last month when I was having issues with my weekly claim not going through. Definitely worth it - they got me connected to an agent the same day and I was able to resolve my issue. Way better than the endless calling and getting hung up on.

Pro tip: if you do get through to someone, have all your information ready - claim number, SSN, dates of employment, etc. They'll ask for everything and if you're not prepared they might transfer you or make you call back.

The whole system is just frustrating. You need help with your unemployment claim but can't actually reach anyone to get help. It's like they set it up to discourage people from calling.

For what it's worth, I finally got through last week after calling 833-572-8400 every 15 minutes for about 3 hours. The agent was actually really helpful once I got connected. So the number works, you just have to be extremely persistent.

Honestly after dealing with this for months, services like Claimyr are worth every penny. Your time is valuable too and spending entire days trying to reach Washington ESD just isn't sustainable when you're job hunting and dealing with claim issues.

Try calling during lunch break around 12-1pm. I read somewhere that's when they have more agents available and I actually got through in under an hour doing that.

update: tried the lunch break thing and got through in 35 minutes! thanks for the tip @11

Just to recap the main options: 833-572-8400 is the primary customer service line, 800-318-6022 for technical issues, try calling at 8am, lunch time, or late afternoon for better chances. If you're desperate, services like Claimyr can handle the calling for you.

One more thing - make sure you're calling from the phone number they have on file for you. Sometimes they won't help if you're calling from a different number for security reasons.

The automated system will also ask you to enter your SSN and claim number before connecting you to hold. Have those ready or you'll have to start over.

Final thought - if your issue is time-sensitive (like a missed weekly claim deadline), mention that right away when you get connected. They can sometimes expedite things for urgent situations.

Hope you get through and get your issue resolved! The phone system is frustrating but once you actually talk to an agent they're usually pretty helpful.

Just wanted to add - if you do end up using Claimyr, they'll call you back when they get an agent on the line so you don't have to sit by the phone waiting. Made it much less stressful for me.