Working gig shifts: a growing local trend – Part II of II

This is the second of two articles about a growing trend across northeast Ohio, including Stark County, where employed adults are adding gig shifts to their work lives to help make ends meet financially. The first article detailed the trend and what is happening, while this article explains why it is happening and explores possible ways to close the wage gap between earnings and expenses.

If an Uber driver provides transportation for you in the future, take a close look because the driver could be a co-worker at your place of employment.

Ohio’s unemployment rate is between 4 and 5 percent, and job growth is regarded as steady, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The same source reports the Canton and Massillon areas have held steady unemployment rates between 4.8 and 5.4 percent for the past several months, making it appear that Ohio’s workforce is stable.

As referenced in the first article of this two-part series, Walsh University economist and Dean of the DeVille School of Business Dr. Marc Fusaro has observed a trend of working adults adding gig shifts and jobs to help make ends meet for their families.

“Northeast Ohio is dealing with a slow squeeze,” Fusaro said. “Job growth has lagged the national average, and a large share of the jobs we do have are clustered in lower-wage service roles – retail, food service, personal care, and support positions in health care and logistics. That combination means more families are technically employed but still living right on the edge.”

Much of the evidence, Fusaro said, that manufacturing, warehouse and service workers are adding or shifting into app-based driving or delivery comes from national analyses of nonemployment and gig work. Those analyses show how many people now earn part or all of their income outside traditional payroll jobs.

Fusaro pointed to research published by the Brookings Institution reporting that more than 40 percent of the U.S. workforce in 2024 earned all or part of its income from nonemployment work, including platform and gig jobs. The report also notes that digital platforms such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have become a major channel for these transitions.

“That’s why measures like the ALICE index from the United Way of Greater Cleveland matter,” Fusaro said. “When a large share of working households are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, you’re going to see a surge in side gigs and multiple jobs just to keep up with basic expenses.”

He also cited a Goldman Sachs research analysis that combines labor market data on unemployment, job openings and labor force participation with platform-work participation and survey evidence on workers’ use of gig platforms after income loss.

Separate research cited alongside Goldman’s shows that wages for many workers have not kept pace with steep increases in the cost of living for groceries, rent and gas, leaving more households living paycheck to paycheck even when nominal pay is flat or slightly higher.

Goldman’s discussion of gig work includes rideshare, delivery, online platforms, temporary staffing and freelance professional work rather than a single occupation. Its income replacement estimate of 50 to 65 percent of prior earnings for workers who lost pay or jobs and turned to gig work spans multiple sectors and occupations.

Goldman’s findings also show gig work accelerated during the pandemic as unemployment rose or hours were reduced, and people turned to this type of work to supplement income. The share of U.S. professionals freelancing increased from roughly one-third in 2014 to nearly two-fifths by 2023.

Why is the trend growing? 

Additional income from gig shifts is often used to fill shortfalls in Ohio’s most common jobs, particularly when families need more income to cover major expenses such as rent, child care, groceries and transportation.

Fusaro said research points to a combination of factors driving workers to add gig jobs, including the concentration of many of Greater Cleveland’s most common jobs in low-wage service sectors, regional wage growth lagging national trends, and safety net thresholds low enough that families working full time can still qualify for aid.

Other contributing factors include a shrinking and aging population, long-term industrial decline, and employers’ reliance on low-wage, high-turnover roles in retail, food service and care work.

Inflation has also taken a bite out of salaries. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners rose 19.7 percent from 2019 to 2023, an average annual increase of 4.6 percent that outpaced pay growth.

“For families and workers in Stark County, this is exhausting,” Fusaro said. “Families are stacking together a primary job, plus gig shifts, plus sometimes another part-time role just to pay for rent, food and child care. That kind of instability makes it almost impossible to save, invest in education or plan for the future.

“From a regional perspective, it’s a slow-moving competitiveness problem. If too many jobs are low wage and short term, people either burn out or leave. Employers lose experienced workers, and the region struggles to build the skilled, stable workforce needed to attract new investment.”

What changes are needed? 

Fusaro outlined several ways companies and policymakers can help workers meet monthly expenses through living-wage employment.

“The data points us toward a two-track solution,” Fusaro said. “First, raise the floor in the jobs people already hold – especially common service and care jobs – so full-time work comes closer to a genuine living wage. Second, build more on-ramps into higher-wage, in-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, health care and business services.”

Policy Matters Ohio, United Way and regional analysts emphasize policies such as raising the minimum wage, with proposals to move Ohio’s floor from about $10.45 toward $15 per hour, strengthening worker protections, and encouraging unionization to boost wages in low-pay sectors.

Policy Matters also highlights workforce development efforts to move workers into higher-paying, in-demand fields, expanded supports such as child care and transportation, and state and local strategies to attract and grow middle-wage jobs so common occupations align more closely with a true living wage.

“In practical terms, that means smarter wage policy and serious investment in training,” Fusaro said. “Colleges like Walsh, employers and workforce agencies need to be partners in helping workers move from low-wage, high-anxiety roles into careers where they don’t need a side hustle just to stay solvent.

“The best way for workers in low-wage industries to advance is through education and job training. Vocational education, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees are still a strong return on investment in terms of earnings and quality of life.”