Why did unemployment rise - Washington ESD claim numbers going crazy?

6 weeks for adjudication?? That's insane. I hope mine doesn't take that long.

Mine took 8 weeks back in March. The job market has been really rough in certain sectors.

That makes sense. So basically when the economy struggles, we all suffer twice - once from losing jobs and again from slow benefit processing.

Exactly. It's a vicious cycle. More unemployment means more claims, which means longer waits for everyone.

Really? How does that work? I've been calling for days with no luck.

They basically handle the calling and waiting for you. When they get an agent on the line, they connect you. Saved me hours of frustration.

That sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?

So true. During good economic times you never hear about these delays.

Makes me wonder if they should staff up during tough times or invest in better systems.

Which industries are you seeing the most layoffs in?

Tech, retail, and some manufacturing. Even some healthcare support roles are getting cut.

That explains why my neighbor in tech support just filed for benefits last week.

RIGHT?? Like when you're desperate for help is when you can't get it.

It's so frustrating. I have bills to pay and can't even get anyone on the phone to explain what's happening with my claim.

Yeah that was me who mentioned it. Seriously worked great - got through to an agent same day I tried it.

I'm going to check out that video demo. At this point I'll try anything.

Let us know how it goes! I might try it too if it actually works.

So it's like a domino effect from the broader economy down to our individual claims getting delayed.

Exactly. And unfortunately individual claimants are the ones who suffer while waiting for the system to catch up.

I know it's frustrating. Have you been filing your weekly claims even while waiting for approval?

yes but they all say pending. im so worried about rent next month

Hang in there. Once your claim gets approved, you should get back payments for all those pending weeks.

Their phone system definitely seems like it's from the 1990s. Always busy signals.

That's why services like that Claimyr thing probably work - they're designed for modern phone systems.

Definitely worse than usual. We normally see seasonal patterns but this feels different.

So I might be waiting even longer if everyone's filing at the same time?

Possibly, but Washington ESD does try to staff up during peak periods. It's just not always enough.

How much does it cost?

I'm not sure on the exact cost, but she said it was way less expensive than missing work to keep calling all day.

That's a good point. Time is money when you're job searching.

Where can I find those reports? Might help me understand what's happening in my industry.

Bureau of Labor Statistics website has all the data. Washington also publishes state-specific numbers.

YES!! why is it so hard to get help when you need it most??

It's a resource allocation problem. Government agencies don't have the flexibility to quickly scale like private companies.

That's exactly the problem. The system should be built to handle crisis levels of demand.

That's awesome! I'm definitely going to try it. How long did the whole process take?

Maybe 30 minutes total including the time talking to the Washington ESD agent. Way better than calling all day.

Okay I'm convinced. Going to check out that demo video tonight.

So this isn't just a temporary thing? Unemployment might stay high for a while?

Hard to predict, but economic transitions usually take time to work through. Could be months before things stabilize.

What specific issue are you having with your claim? Maybe someone here can help.

they say i didnt do enough job searches but i submitted everything correctly. cant get anyone to review it

That's exactly the kind of thing my cousin used Claimyr for. Got it resolved in one phone call.

That makes sense why my weekly claim processing has been slower lately even though I've been filing for months.

Exactly. The whole system gets stressed when claim volume spikes.

Congrats! That gives me hope. Did you do anything special to speed it up?

Just kept filing my weekly claims and waited. Though I did see several people mention that Claimyr service for getting through by phone faster.

3 weeks seems like forever when you have bills due but glad it worked out!

Completely agree. There has to be a better way to manage the workload during high-unemployment periods.

It would require significant investment in technology and staffing flexibility. Not sure if there's political will for that.

There should be. When people lose jobs, they need support immediately, not after a bureaucratic delay.