US office occupancy in big cities tops 40%

Chicago

OFFICE occupancy in major US urban areas topped 40 per cent after Thanksgiving, a post-pandemic high, according to building security provider Kastle Systems.

The company reported this week that its back-to-work barometer based on keycard, fob, and building access data shows a 10-city average occupancy in buildings and businesses it secures rose to 40.6 per cent after the Thanksgiving holiday, the highest level since Covid-19 forced millions to work remotely from home starting in March 2020.

Austin, Texas, had the highest metropolitan area occupancy at 59.3 per cent, with New York at 37 per cent, Chicago at 35.2 per cent, and Los Angeles at 36.3 per cent.

If the upward trend in the return of US workers after more than 18 months working from home holds up in coming weeks, it could result in a stronger December employment report, Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, said on Wednesday (Dec 8).

In a daily briefing, Colas pointed to a "surprising" surge in office occupancy in the latest week despite news of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and given that occupancy was expected to remain soft throughout the holiday period.

He said urban unemployment was "a significant issue" for the labor market during the pandemic. REUTERS