Working 16 hours (Thu/Fri) - how much will ESD reduce my weekly benefit?

ESD uses a specific formula for partial benefits. When you report 16 hours, they'll calculate earnings by multiplying hours by your hourly wage. Then they subtract 25% of your weekly benefit amount from your earnings, and subtract that result from your weekly benefit amount. So for example, if you earn $18/hour × 16 hours = $288 Then: $732 × 0.25 = $183 $288 - $183 = $105 $732 - $105 = $627 So you'd get approximately $627 instead of your full $732. The exact amount depends on your hourly wage.

They dont take away ur whole benefit for part time work its some percentage thing cant remember exactly how much but my friend worked 2 days and still got most of his money

When I started working part-time last month while on UI, I was SO CONFUSED about how they calculated everything!! I spent 2 HOURS trying to get through to ESD to understand my payment. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was super helpful and walked me through my exact calculation. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 Definitely worth it instead of stressing and trying to call for days!

Make sure you report GROSS earnings (before taxes) not your take-home pay! I messed this up once and got a nasty overpayment notice 6 months later for $1200. 😱 Such a nightmare to fix.

ESD's partial benefit formula is designed to encourage people to take part-time work. You're doing exactly what the system wants! I was in the exact same boat last year - working Thursday and Friday at a warehouse while collecting partial unemployment. Based on your numbers ($732 weekly benefit, $22.50/hour, 16 hours), here's your calculation: $22.50 × 16 = $360 gross earnings 25% of $732 = $183 $360 - $183 = $177 $732 - $177 = $555 weekly benefit Total income: $360 + $555 = $915 So you'll actually be making $183 MORE than if you just stayed on full unemployment! Smart move taking the part-time gig.

Watch out because you still have to do your 3 job search activities every week even when working part-time. A lot of people forget this and then get disqualified. ESD doesn't automatically waive job search requirements just because you have some work.

This whole sytem is rigged against us anyway. i worked 12 hours one week and my benifits got cut by almost half. makes no sense. The calculatin they claim to use is BS. probably just making up numbers to keep more $$$ for themselves.

Thanks everyone for all the detailed responses! This has been incredibly helpful. I had no idea about the 25% earnings deduction formula but now it makes sense. I'll be reporting my gross wages ($22.50 × 16 = $360) and expecting around $555 in benefits based on the calculations above. I'll be continuing my job searches too - hoping to find something full-time soon but this part-time gig helps in the meantime.