diff --git a/src/Manager/AutoscaleManager.php b/src/Manager/AutoscaleManager.php
index 38c1eea..1f9a655 100644
--- a/src/Manager/AutoscaleManager.php
+++ b/src/Manager/AutoscaleManager.php
@@ -477,6 +477,7 @@ private function evaluateAndPublishClusterRecommendations(): void
                 'name' => $meta['name'],
                 'driver' => $meta['driver'],
                 'current_workers' => $currentWorkers,
+                'demand' => $demands[$workloadKey],
                 'target_workers' => $targetWorkers,
                 'worker_min' => $meta['config']->workers->min,
                 'worker_max' => $meta['config']->workers->max,
@@ -891,7 +892,7 @@ private function buildClusterSummary(array $activeManagers, array $workloads, ar
 
         $currentHosts = count($activeManagers);
         $totalWorkerCapacity = array_sum(array_map(static fn (ClusterManagerState $state): int => $state->maxWorkers, $activeManagers));
-        $requiredWorkers = array_sum(array_map(static fn (array $workload): int => (int) $workload['target_workers'], $workloads));
+        $requiredWorkers = array_sum(array_map(static fn (array $workload): int => (int) $workload['demand'], $workloads));
         $totalWorkers = array_sum(array_map(static fn (ClusterManagerState $state): int => $state->totalWorkers, $activeManagers));
         $recommendedHosts = $this->recommendedHostCount($activeManagers, $requiredWorkers);
         $signal = $this->clusterScaleSignal($currentHosts, $recommendedHosts, $requiredWorkers, $totalWorkerCapacity, $totalWorkers, $workloads);
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Cluster/ClusterScalingDecisionsTest.php b/tests/Unit/Cluster/ClusterScalingDecisionsTest.php
index a92723f..2071cc3 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Cluster/ClusterScalingDecisionsTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Cluster/ClusterScalingDecisionsTest.php
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'default',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 1,
+            'demand' => 3,
             'target_workers' => 3,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'fast',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 1,
+            'demand' => 6,
             'target_workers' => 6,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -115,6 +117,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'slow',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 1,
+            'demand' => 3,
             'target_workers' => 3,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -177,6 +180,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'stable',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 5,
+            'demand' => 5,
             'target_workers' => 5,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -210,6 +214,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'draining',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 8,
+            'demand' => 2,
             'target_workers' => 2,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -260,6 +265,7 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
             'name' => 'default',
             'driver' => 'redis',
             'current_workers' => 5,
+            'demand' => 5,
             'target_workers' => 5,
             'worker_min' => 1,
             'worker_max' => 10,
@@ -324,3 +330,206 @@ function invokeBuildClusterSummary(array $managers, array $workloads, array $sca
         ->and($summary['scaling_decisions'][2]['from'])->toBe(8)
         ->and($summary['scaling_decisions'][2]['to'])->toBe(5);
 });
+
+it('produces scale_up signal when unclamped demand exceeds cluster capacity', function () {
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.enabled', true);
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.app_id', 'test-cluster');
+
+    // 2 hosts, 5 max workers each = 10 total capacity
+    $managers = [
+        makeSummaryManagerState('host-a', maxWorkers: 5, totalWorkers: 5),
+        makeSummaryManagerState('host-b', maxWorkers: 5, totalWorkers: 5),
+    ];
+
+    // 4 queues with demand summing to 30, but targets clamped to fit capacity (10)
+    $workloads = [
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'fast',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 4,
+            'demand' => 15,
+            'target_workers' => 4,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 20,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 10,
+            'pending' => 240,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 12,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'warning',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 300.0,
+            'active_workers' => 4,
+            'utilization_percent' => 95.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['fast'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'priority',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 3,
+            'demand' => 8,
+            'target_workers' => 3,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 15,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 15,
+            'pending' => 80,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 8,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'normal',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 150.0,
+            'active_workers' => 3,
+            'utilization_percent' => 90.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['priority'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'slow',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 2,
+            'demand' => 5,
+            'target_workers' => 2,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 10,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 60,
+            'pending' => 40,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 15,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'normal',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 50.0,
+            'active_workers' => 2,
+            'utilization_percent' => 85.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['slow'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'email',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 1,
+            'demand' => 2,
+            'target_workers' => 1,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 5,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 120,
+            'pending' => 10,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 3,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'normal',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 20.0,
+            'active_workers' => 1,
+            'utilization_percent' => 60.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['email'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+    ];
+
+    $summary = invokeBuildClusterSummary($managers, $workloads);
+
+    // required_workers should reflect unclamped demand (30), not clamped targets (10)
+    expect($summary['required_workers'])->toBe(30)
+        ->and($summary['total_worker_capacity'])->toBe(10)
+        ->and($summary['scale_signal']['action'])->toBe('scale_up')
+        ->and($summary['scale_signal']['recommended_hosts'])->toBeGreaterThan(2);
+});
+
+it('produces hold signal when demand fits within cluster capacity', function () {
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.enabled', true);
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.app_id', 'test-cluster');
+
+    // 2 hosts, 5 max workers each = 10 total capacity
+    $managers = [
+        makeSummaryManagerState('host-a', maxWorkers: 5, totalWorkers: 4),
+        makeSummaryManagerState('host-b', maxWorkers: 5, totalWorkers: 4),
+    ];
+
+    // demand sums to 8, fits within capacity of 10
+    $workloads = [
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'fast',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 4,
+            'demand' => 5,
+            'target_workers' => 5,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 10,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 10,
+            'pending' => 0,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 2,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'normal',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 100.0,
+            'active_workers' => 4,
+            'utilization_percent' => 50.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['fast'],
+            'action' => 1,
+        ],
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'slow',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 3,
+            'demand' => 3,
+            'target_workers' => 3,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 10,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 60,
+            'pending' => 0,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 1,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'normal',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 50.0,
+            'active_workers' => 3,
+            'utilization_percent' => 40.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['slow'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+    ];
+
+    $summary = invokeBuildClusterSummary($managers, $workloads);
+
+    expect($summary['required_workers'])->toBe(8)
+        ->and($summary['scale_signal']['action'])->not->toBe('scale_up')
+        ->and($summary['scale_signal']['recommended_hosts'])->toBe(2);
+});
+
+it('surfaces both demand and target_workers in workload entries', function () {
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.enabled', true);
+    config()->set('queue-autoscale.cluster.app_id', 'test-cluster');
+
+    $managers = [makeSummaryManagerState('host-a', maxWorkers: 10, totalWorkers: 8)];
+
+    $workloads = [
+        [
+            'type' => 'queue',
+            'connection' => 'redis',
+            'name' => 'fast',
+            'driver' => 'redis',
+            'current_workers' => 8,
+            'demand' => 25,
+            'target_workers' => 8,
+            'worker_min' => 1,
+            'worker_max' => 30,
+            'sla_target_seconds' => 10,
+            'pending' => 200,
+            'oldest_job_age' => 15,
+            'oldest_job_age_status' => 'warning',
+            'throughput_per_minute' => 400.0,
+            'active_workers' => 8,
+            'utilization_percent' => 95.0,
+            'member_queues' => ['fast'],
+            'action' => 0,
+        ],
+    ];
+
+    $summary = invokeBuildClusterSummary($managers, $workloads);
+
+    $workload = $summary['workloads'][0];
+    expect($workload)->toHaveKey('demand')
+        ->and($workload)->toHaveKey('target_workers')
+        ->and($workload['demand'])->toBe(25)
+        ->and($workload['target_workers'])->toBe(8)
+        ->and($workload['demand'])->toBeGreaterThan($workload['target_workers']);
+});