Why hasn't my Washington ESD unemployment been approved yet - been waiting 5 weeks

At least I'm not alone in this. Did you get laid off too or was it a different situation?

Laid off right before Christmas. Company said it was temporary but then made it permanent in January.

6-8 weeks?! That's insane. How are people supposed to survive that long without income?

I know it's frustrating but they do pay retroactively once approved. You'll get all the weeks you've been filing for.

The retroactive thing is true but doesn't help when you need money NOW for bills.

I've tried calling probably 50 times over the past two weeks. Either busy signal or it hangs up on me after being on hold for an hour.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD, I recently found this service called Claimyr that helps you connect with agents. They have this system that keeps calling for you until they get through. Check out claimyr.com - they even have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works.

Never heard of that before. Does it actually work or is it just another scam?

I was skeptical too but it worked for me. Got connected to a Washington ESD agent in about 2 hours instead of spending days trying to call myself.

Right? And meanwhile bills keep coming and landlords don't care that the government is slow.

Exactly. It's like they forget that people filing for unemployment are already in financial distress.

I've checked that multiple times. No pending issues, no requests for additional information. Just says 'claim under review.

That's strange. Usually if they need something they'll flag it in your account. Might be worth trying to get through to someone by phone.

Seriously?! How much did it cost to use that service?

Honestly don't remember the exact amount but it was worth it to finally get answers. Way better than spending hours on hold just to get hung up on.

That's awesome! I might have to try that too. Been waiting 3 weeks myself.

Thanks for the encouragement. Some days I wonder if I should just give up and find any job I can get.

Don't give up! You paid into this system and deserve the benefits. Plus if you find a job you can always stop filing claims.

Yeah I've been doing that. It feels pointless but I don't want to mess anything up.

Good thinking. Also make sure you're doing your job search activities and keeping records in case they audit you later.

I feel the same way. At least we can commiserate together while we wait.

True. Maybe I should try that phone service thing too. At this point I'm willing to try anything.

Good idea. I'll look up where the nearest one is and see if they can help.

Worth a shot. They might not be able to process your claim but they usually have better access to information.

I agree the system needs improvement but complaining doesn't help solve the immediate problem.

Fair point. Just frustrated that people are struggling while bureaucrats take their sweet time.

Will do. I'm going to try the Claimyr thing tomorrow and see if I can finally get some answers.

Good luck! Really hope you get it sorted out soon.

That's really encouraging. I'm definitely going to try it first thing tomorrow morning.

Hope it works for you too! The key is getting actual information about what's holding up your claim instead of just guessing.

Good to know. I'll keep filing even though it feels pointless right now.

Yeah it's annoying but better safe than sorry. The system is unforgiving if you mess up the process.

That's amazing! How much of the backlog did they pay?

Got paid for all 4 weeks I had been filing. Definitely helped catch up on bills.

This gives me hope! Thanks for the update.

Not crazy at all! This whole process is designed to be confusing and stressful.

Exactly. Sometimes I wonder if they make it difficult on purpose to discourage people from claiming.

Good advice. I set that up when I first filed but good reminder for anyone else reading this.

Smart thinking. The whole process is slow enough without adding mail delays on top of it.

Good luck! Really hoping it works out for you.

Fingers crossed! Let us know how it goes with Claimyr.

You got this! Just stay persistent and don't give up.