Cleveland’s unemployment rate stood at 5.2% in July 2025, the highest among the nation’s 56 largest metropolitan areas when measured by the rate increase over the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). But employment numbers alone don’t tell the full story of economic security for Cleveland workers.
The Cleveland metro area saw the steepest unemployment rate increase—0.8 percentage points between July 2024 and July 2025—among the nation’s 56 largest metropolitan areas, according to the BLS August metropolitan area employment report. The national unemployment rate stood at 4.1% in July 2025, according to the same BLS report.
Why it matters for Cleveland
Cleveland’s rising unemployment rate comes as workers nationwide increasingly rely on multiple part-time jobs and gig work rather than stable, full-time employment. The shift affects everything from household budgets to retirement savings, with implications for Cleveland’s economic recovery and cost-of-living pressures facing residents.
As Cleveland saw the steepest increase in unemployment among the nation’s largest metros, the nature of work itself is changing, with more residents working multiple jobs, taking gig work, or leaving the workforce entirely rather than finding stable employment.
National labor data adds context
The national unemployment rate edged down to 4.4% in December, while the labor force declined by 46,000 people, according to the BLSs’ February Employment Situation Summary. The labor force participation rate declined to 62.4% in December 2025, according to BLS data, with federal charts showing lower participation among several demographic groups.
The broader U-6 unemployment rate (which tracks the unemployed plus people working part-time because they can’t find full-time work) stood at 8.4% in December, more than 2 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels, according to BLS data.
Multiple jobs become the new normal
Multiple job holders accounted for 5.5% of employed workers in December 2025, according to the BLS from the Current Population Survey. The rate represents the highest sustained level since 2009, as workers increasingly patch together income from several sources rather than relying on a single full-time position.
More than 70 million Americans now work in the gig economy, freelance or short-term contract jobs, representing 36% of the U.S. workforce, as traditional full-time employment becomes less dominant, and workers turn to platforms like Uber, DoorDash and Upwork to supplement income, according to Goldman Sachs Research.
One in four workers engaged in some form of gig work in 2025, from driving for Uber to freelancing online, as traditional employment becomes less stable, according to the ADP Research Institute.
The BLS tracks workers who hold more than one job simultaneously, whether working multiple part-time positions or combining full-time and part-time work. The sustained elevation of this rate signals a shift in employment patterns, with more Americans unable to meet their financial needs through a single job.
National wages lag behind rising costs
Nominal wages (the dollar amount before adjusting for inflation) increased 3.8% in December while inflation stood at 2.7%, but those gains have not erased the damage from two years when prices rose faster than paychecks, according to the BLS.
Cleveland layoffs hit key sectors hard
Among the nation’s 56 largest metropolitan areas, Cleveland saw the highest unemployment rate increase by 0.8 percentage points between July 2024 and July 2025, according to the BLS metropolitan area employment data. Manufacturing and hospitality employment declined in the Cuyahoga region over the year.
Ohio lost 4,300 manufacturing jobs year-over-year in December 2024, split between durable goods (4,000 jobs) and nondurable goods (300 jobs), according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Manufacturing layoffs hit Cleveland particularly hard as part of broader industry trends affecting Northeast Ohio’s traditional economic base.
The combination of rising unemployment and sector-specific job losses in Cleveland points to structural shifts in the region’s economy. While some workers find new positions, others turn to multiple part-time jobs or exit the labor force altogether.
What it means for Cleveland
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland research shows differences in purchasing power gains across income groups. The bottom 40% and middle 40% of income earners ended 2024 with around 4.5 percentage points more cumulated wage gains than inflation since January 2019, while the top 20% gained close to 3.5 percentage points, according to the Cleveland Fed’s October 2025 Economic Commentary.
The research shows that despite experiencing higher inflation, lower-income households also saw higher wage growth, resulting in modest purchasing power gains. However, these gains accumulated over six years and followed a period of volatile price increases that strained household budgets.
What’s ahead
Despite improvements in some economic indicators, many workers continue to rely on multiple part-time jobs or face reduced employment options in manufacturing and hospitality. Economists increasingly point to job stability and wage growth as key indicators beyond unemployment rates.
