When is the best time to call Washington ESD unemployment office?

I had luck calling right at 8am when they open, but you have to be ready to dial the second it hits 8:00. Even then it took me like 20 tries to get through the busy signal.

Tuesday through Thursday seem to be the best days to call. Avoid Mondays completely - everyone calls Monday morning after the weekend. I've noticed Wednesday around 10:30am has worked for me a few times.

Honestly I gave up trying to call and used Claimyr instead. It's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an agent. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked - got through in like 20 minutes when I hadn't been able to reach anyone for weeks. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

The phone system is absolutely broken. I've been calling for 3 weeks about my adjudication and can't get through. This is ridiculous that we have to jump through hoops just to talk to someone about our own benefits.

Try calling during lunch hours too - around 12:30-1:30pm. A lot of people don't think to call then so the lines might be less busy. I got through once around 1:15pm.

Whatever you do, don't call on Friday afternoons. Tried that multiple times and either got busy signals or was on hold for 2+ hours before giving up.

Here's what I've found works best: Call Tuesday-Thursday, between 10am-11am or 2pm-3pm. Have your claim number and SSN ready. If you get a busy signal, hang up and immediately redial - don't wait. Sometimes it takes 30-50 attempts to get through.

i called 73 times last week and never got through, this system is broken

I had success calling around 3:30pm on a Wednesday. Waited about an hour on hold but finally got through to someone who could help with my weekly claim issue.

They need to hire more staff or fix their phone system. This is taxpayer money funding these services and we can't even reach them. Completely unacceptable.

Another tip: if you do get through and they need to transfer you, ask them to stay on the line during the transfer. Sometimes you get disconnected during transfers and have to start over.

Just wanted to update - tried calling Wednesday at 10:30am like someone suggested and got through in about 25 minutes! Finally got my adjudication status updated.

Update on Claimyr: used it again this week for a different issue and got connected in 15 minutes. Still think it's worth it when you can't get through on your own. The agent was able to explain why my payment was delayed.

tried tuesday at 2pm today and got through after 40 minutes, finally got my job search log issue resolved

Thanks everyone for all the advice! I'm going to try Wednesday morning first, and if that doesn't work I might look into that Claimyr service. Will update you all on what works.

Still think it's ridiculous we need third-party services or special timing strategies just to reach our own unemployment office, but at least there are options I guess.

Final tip: keep a log of when you call and what happens. It helps you identify patterns and also shows persistence if you ever need to escalate your issue.

This thread has been really helpful. I was getting frustrated trying to call at random times but now I have a real strategy to follow.

Remember, persistence is key. It's frustrating but most people do eventually get through if they keep trying with the right timing. Don't give up!

One more thing - if you do get through and your issue is complex, ask if they can schedule a callback instead of trying to handle everything in one call. Some agents will do that.