Why is my Washington ESD unemployment claim taking so long to process?

Same boat here, filed 5 weeks ago and nothing. The automated system just keeps saying my claim is being processed.

There are several reasons claims get delayed. Most common is adjudication - they need to verify something about your employment history, reason for separation, or eligibility. Check if you have any pending issues in your SecureAccess Washington account.

I was in the same situation last month - couldn't get through to Washington ESD no matter how many times I called. Then someone told me about Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's a service that calls Washington ESD for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I was skeptical at first but tried it and got through within an hour. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was holding up my claim.

6 weeks is definitely longer than normal processing time. Pre-COVID, most claims were processed within 2-3 weeks. Now with staffing issues and system updates, 4-5 weeks has become more common, but 6+ weeks usually means there's a specific issue that needs resolution.

this is ridiculous, ive been waiting 7 weeks now and still nothing. washington esd is completely broken

Check if you need to complete any job search activities. Sometimes claims get held up if you haven't been logging your job search properly in WorkSourceWA.

Had a similar delay with my claim. Turned out Washington ESD needed additional documentation from my previous employer and they never sent me a notice about it. Only found out when I finally got through to an agent.

The Claimyr thing actually works. I used it two weeks ago after seeing it mentioned here. Got connected to a Washington ESD agent same day and found out my claim was stuck because of a simple address mismatch. Agent fixed it on the spot.

Make sure you're not missing any correspondence from Washington ESD. Sometimes they send important notices that get lost in spam folders or regular mail.

ugh this whole thread is making me anxious. i filed 3 weeks ago and now im worried mine will take forever too

The Washington ESD phone system is absolutely terrible. I spent literally hours trying to get through. Finally someone recommended calling right at 8 AM when they open, but even that didn't work for me consistently.

Just to add another perspective - I filed 4 weeks ago and got approved last week. Sometimes it's just random which claims move faster than others. Don't lose hope entirely.

I tried the Claimyr service after reading about it in forums like this. Was skeptical but desperate. They got me through to Washington ESD in under 2 hours and the agent was able to explain exactly what was causing my delay - turned out to be a simple verification issue that got resolved the same day.

The whole Washington ESD system is understaffed and overwhelmed. They're processing way more claims than they have capacity for, which is why everything takes so long.

Keep filing your weekly claims even while your initial claim is being processed. If it gets approved, you'll receive back pay for all the weeks you were eligible and filed for.

Washington ESD really needs to fix their communication system. The fact that people are waiting weeks without any explanation of what's causing the delay is unacceptable.

my claim took 8 weeks but finally got approved last month. hang in there, most claims do eventually get processed even if it takes way longer than it should

Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like the key is actually getting through to talk to someone at Washington ESD to find out what's specifically holding up your claim. Everything else is just speculation.

Just wanted to circle back - I tried Claimyr yesterday and got connected to a Washington ESD agent within 90 minutes. Found out my claim was delayed because they needed to verify my previous employer's information, but the request got stuck in their system and was never processed. Agent was able to push it through and said I should see movement on my claim within a few days.

I'm in a similar situation - filed my claim 5 weeks ago and still stuck in "under review" status. Reading through all these responses, it seems like the common thread is that most people who got their issues resolved had to actually speak with a Washington ESD agent to find out what was specifically holding up their claim. The phone system is definitely broken, but I'm encouraged by all the positive feedback about Claimyr from multiple people here. Going to give it a try since traditional calling methods clearly aren't working. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in this frustrating process.