Vacant office

While there’s an increase in companies trying to re-assert the pre-pandemic status quo of employees working in the office, a stark contrast in the goals of many companies and actual foot traffic still exists, according to a recent study conducted by Placer.ai’s National Office Index and coverage from Costar. The study, which compares office occupancy rates from December 2019 to December 2023, highlighted foot traffic levels in offices in a number of significant cities. 

While every city highlighted experienced a dip in monthly office visits by at least 19 percent in that span, there was still notable fluctuation. It appears that New York offices have had the most success getting employees to return after shutdowns, with a 19.2 percent dip in monthly visits in December 2023 compared to 2019. On the other end of the spectrum, San Francisco was hit the hardest with a 53.1 percent dip. Other cities of note include Miami (-24.7 percent), Dallas (-34.2 percent) and Chicago (44.9 percent). 

On a nationwide scale, the total percentage tip totaled out to -36.5 percent. The consequences of these dips have included the termination of leases and subsequent rise in available office properties, in addition to a rise in layoffs. For a detailed picture of how the changing office layouts and foot traffic affect the commercial cleaning industry, check out this feature from Contracting Profits.