What is the rate of unemployment today - Washington ESD weekly benefit amounts

The unemployment rate doesn't directly affect your weekly benefit amount. Washington ESD calculates your benefits based on your earnings during your base period, which is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed. The maximum weekly benefit amount for 2025 is $999, and the minimum is $295.

I had the same confusion when I first filed! The unemployment rate you see in the news (like 3.8% or whatever) is just a statistic about how many people are unemployed. It doesn't change your individual benefit amount at all.

If you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD to verify your benefit calculation, I just discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. I was able to get my monetary determination questions answered without waiting on hold for hours.

Your weekly benefit amount is calculated as follows: Washington ESD takes your highest quarter of earnings in your base period, divides by 26, then takes 3.85% of your total base period wages. You get whichever amount is lower, up to the maximum weekly benefit.

The current unemployment rate is around 4.1% in Washington state as of December 2024, but like others said, that's completely separate from your individual benefits. That's just the percentage of people who are unemployed and looking for work.

I work in HR and deal with unemployment claims regularly. The confusion about unemployment rates vs. benefits is super common. Your friend might have higher wages reported, worked in a different quarter, or there could be an error somewhere. Definitely worth checking your monetary determination.

this is so confusing!! why cant they just make it simple. i been trying to figure out my benefits for weeks and nothing makes sense. the washington esd website is terrible

For what it's worth, I used Claimyr too when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD about my benefit calculation. It was worth it just to get a real person to explain why my amount seemed low compared to what I expected.

The unemployment rate being reported in news is typically the U-3 rate, which counts people actively looking for work. There's also U-6 which includes underemployed people, but neither affects your UI benefits calculation.

I had a similar situation where my benefit amount seemed wrong. Turned out one of my employers from my base period hadn't reported my wages correctly to Washington ESD. Had to get that fixed before my benefits were calculated properly.

Just to add - if you're doing gig work or have side income while collecting unemployment, that can also affect your weekly benefit amount through the earnings deduction formula. But the base unemployment rate in the economy doesn't factor in at all.

The Washington State Employment Security Department updates benefit amounts annually, but it's based on average wages in the state, not the unemployment rate. For 2025, the maximum went up from last year due to wage growth.

Bottom line - check your monetary determination, compare it to your actual earnings records, and if something looks off, either call Washington ESD directly or use a service like Claimyr to get through faster. The unemployment rate you see in news has nothing to do with your individual benefit calculation.

If anyone's still confused about the monetary determination, Washington ESD has a handbook that explains the calculation formulas. It's on their website under resources for claimants.

I went through this exact same confusion last year. Spent way too much time trying to connect unemployment rates I saw on TV with my weekly benefit amount. They're completely separate things - one's about the economy, the other is about your personal work history.