Every state has an unemployment trust fund
States deposit employer tax dollars in individual unemployment trust funds for paying future benefits.
- ESD produces Washington's unemployment trust fund forecast report three times per year.
- Find current and archived reports on the unemployment trust fund reports page.
Employers pay state and federal taxes
All employers pay two types of unemployment taxes: state (SUTA) and federal (FUTA)
SUTA taxes fund benefit payments for claimants. We calculate SUTA taxes annually and deposit them in the state's unemployment trust fund.
FUTA taxes are administered at the federal level. They're used for oversight of state unemployment programs. During times of high unemployment, states may borrow from FUTA funds, helping provide benefits to locally unemployed people.
Read more about how we determine tax rates.
Solvency tax
State law requires Employment Security to assess a solvency surcharge on employers when the unemployment trust fund has less than 7 months of benefits available as of Sept. 30 of any year.
The solvency surcharge will be the lowest possible rate needed to get the trust fund back up to 9 months of benefits available. ESD assesses the solvency tax for the following calendar year.