Avison Young Busyness Study: NYC Ahead on Return to Office

A study found that Manhattan workers are going to the office 15 percent more than the rest of the country, and almost 30 percent more on Mondays, according to the “Office Busyness Index” compiled by brokerage Avison Young and analytics firm Placer.ai.

All industries in Manhattan saw an increase, but law firms and media/entertainment firms are leading the pack, both up by more than 20 percent in the past year. Law firms are up by almost 25 percent and media/entertainment firms are up by 20.5 percent.

And they seem to prefer Monday. Manhattan workers are showing up in the office on Mondays 29.3 percent more than last year, but that wanes as the week progresses. Tuesdays are up by 11 percent from last year, while Wednesday through Friday is slightly down at about 91 to 97 percent of what it was last year.

While there are more people going to the office more often, the nation is still far behind pre-pandemic rates. As of June 2024, US office buildings are about 62 percent as busy as they were in June 2019, according to the data.

Avison Young said Manhattan is one of the places to watch as it is nearly 15 percent above the national average of 61 percent during the same period, with Manhattan activity up 7.3 percent year over year.

The firm said in its report that finance and banking previously led the return to office in Manhattan, but now other industries are following suit. The other measured industries saw increases of between five percent and 11 percent.

It remains to be seen whether the employee demand for work-from-home plaguing the commercial market will eventually phase out. For now, it looks like the pendulum may be swinging back, as workers slowly start moving back into the office.