America's Office-Occupancy Rates Drop by Double Digits - and More in San francisco (sfgate.com) 38
SfGate shares the latest data on America's office-occupancy rates:
According to Placer.ai's January 2025 Office Index, office visits nationwide were 40.2% lower in January 2025 compared with pre-pandemic numbers from January 2019.
But San francisco is dragging down the average, with a staggering 51.8% decline in office visits since January 2019 — the weakest recovery of any major metro. Kastle's 10-City Daily Analysis paints an equally grim picture. from Jan. 23, 2025, to Jan. 28, 2025, even on its busiest day (Tuesday), San francisco's office occupancy rate was just 53.7%, significantly lower than Houston's (74.8%) and Chicago's (70.4%). And on friday, Jan. 24, office attendance in [San francisco] was at a meager 28.5%, the worst of any major metro tracked...
Meanwhile, other cities are seeing much stronger rebounds. New York City is leading the return-to-office trend, with visits in January down just 19% from 2019 levels, while Miami saw a 23.5% decline, per Placer.ai data.
"Placer.ai uses cellphone location data to estimate foot traffic, while Kastle Systems measures badge swipes at office buildings with its security systems..."
But San francisco is dragging down the average, with a staggering 51.8% decline in office visits since January 2019 — the weakest recovery of any major metro. Kastle's 10-City Daily Analysis paints an equally grim picture. from Jan. 23, 2025, to Jan. 28, 2025, even on its busiest day (Tuesday), San francisco's office occupancy rate was just 53.7%, significantly lower than Houston's (74.8%) and Chicago's (70.4%). And on friday, Jan. 24, office attendance in [San francisco] was at a meager 28.5%, the worst of any major metro tracked...
Meanwhile, other cities are seeing much stronger rebounds. New York City is leading the return-to-office trend, with visits in January down just 19% from 2019 levels, while Miami saw a 23.5% decline, per Placer.ai data.
"Placer.ai uses cellphone location data to estimate foot traffic, while Kastle Systems measures badge swipes at office buildings with its security systems..."
Dropped by MORE than double digits?! (Score:3, funny)
So office occupancy in San francisco in down by 100%?
Great headline.
Re: (Score:3)
In San francisco, it is not enough to work-from-home. Now your co-workers will work from your home.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
My salary is nearly 7 figures! Six, to be exact.
Re: (Score:2)
I gotta admit - that cracked me up!
Re: (Score:2)
Nice!
I'd imagine that this will turn around soon (Score:2)
I'd imagine that more companies will follow the lead of other Big Tech and government offices who are currently forcing workers to return to the office or lose their jobs.
I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it seems to be where the momentum is headed now.
Re:I'd imagine that this will turn around soon (Score:4, Insightful)
Usually when they do that it's an attempt to scare employees away to reduce head-count, not because it increases productivity. It's a sign the company is focked in the Ess.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:I'd imagine that this will turn around soon (Score:4, Interesting)
If layoffs always reduced productivity, company owners, managers and executives would NEVER DO THEM. Maybe the manager’s bonus hinges on quarterly returns and that guy’s gonna be stupidly shortsighted. But owners and equity-holders usually keep longer-term success in mind. They’ll only allow layoffs if they think it’ll actually improve the company.
There have been articles running about this because of what the Trusk is trying to do to the US federal government. The problem is that there are right ways to do layoffs (which encourages the checked-out and the quiet-quitters to leave) and wrong ways (crush everyones spirit so the strong performers give the middle finger and run for a better place). Trusk is doing it the wrong way, incidentally.
My best link on this is paywalled. You’ll have to look it up yourself.
Re: (Score:2)
I think the issue is they're measuring cell phone data. Many major employers require some level of badge-ins. But most of us don't stick around. Offices are the anti-thesis of productivity, so we go back home. RTO is just making traffic and infrastructure problems worse, without actually offering any benefit to anyone except CRE bag-holders, who should go die in fires. Sooner rather than later.
I hope not. (Score:2)
Working from home (in jobs where that is practical) gives people superior work-life balance and greater satisfaction in life and work. More time with their families without sacrificing the time they must focus on their duties, plus options to live further away from hubs to save much-needed money and benefit from cleaner air. It also reduces air pollution overall since they don't need to drive nearly as much. It is such a win for so many people.
I understand that traffic accidents went up during and after
wat (Score:1)
Placer.ai uses cellphone location data to estimate foot traffic
Kill it with fire!
Yeah, San francisco is a wart of a city now. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, San francisco is a wart of a city now. (Score:5, Insightful)
I lived in Sf for many years and still visit for about 2 weeks a year.
It is pretty shocking to me each year I go back now how much worse it is than the year before. Dirttier, uglier, crazier, more human shit to dodge on the sidewalks, more drug dealers, and on n on n on and what's the upside? Much higher prices on everything than the previous year's visit.
Obviously, I hate America or I'd love seeing Sf get worse every year. Or is it that I hate America and that's why I'm honest about what's happening to a place I know very well? Either way, I hate America, apparently.
Re: (Score:3)
Well you sure set me straight with your logic, facts, details and cool demeanor.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe it's always been shitty but since many of us tend to visit that place when we are young, we just don't realize it. It was shitty back in 2008. Sure, there are parts of that are nice but that's always true. Sadly, there were many many parts that were not nice and drag the whole city down.
The whole area is to large for me personally to enjoy. I'm in San Diego, and that's also getting to be more a bother then it was when I first got here.
Maybe getting older just makes me want to move to the sticks with f
So.... (Score:2)
Placer.ai uses cellphone location data to estimate foot traffic
So what you're saying is that Placer.ai is just another Privacy Rapist.
Nothing grim (Score:4, Insightful)
There's nothing grim about not going to the big town office. We should be happy that people are working outside the big cities where pollution accumulates and the average road speed is measured in snail paces.
Keep it up San francisco
Re: Nothing grim (Score:4, Interesting)
Tone (Score:4, Insightful)
Work has changed for many professions, and the only people fighting against it are real-estate investors and poor managers.
Re: (Score:2)
According to companies spying on cell phone locations, San francisco has a higher rate of people working in private garages compared with other US cities, where people more often remain stuck in offices and spied on by their bosses. This is great news for Sf and Silicon Valley as it shows the startup-in-garages economy is alive and well and doing much better than elsewhere.
Re: (Score:2)
Probably all the extroverts. They always want to be around people. It's like they just can't stand being lone and in quiet time.
Re: (Score:2)
It's like how when inflation goes up they crank interest rates in order to trigger a recession rather than enforce antitrust law and or take government action to increase supply in order to keep prices down.
It's a tacit acknowledgment that anything that inconveniences the top is converted into punishment for everyone beneath them.
Good (Score:4, Insightful)
This is things getting better (Score:5, Insightful)
...At least in this one area.
Life has enough pointless crap in it without us inventing more. If a job doesn't require physical presence, forcing an employee to commute to a cubical is stupid, wasteful, and downright abusive.
Another way to look at it. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Luckily, San francisco's unemployment rate is below 4%, and falling. https://ycharts.com/indicators... [ycharts.com]. So it's probably not due to people losing their jobs, thankfully.
Re: (Score:2)
Or the jobless people left because it's super expensive there.
Or the jobless people are no longer being counted once their unemployment ran out.
Re: (Score:2)
San francisco's population is not decreasing.
And jobless people don't stop counting as unemployed just because their unemployment benefits run out. https://www.bls.gov/cps/defini... [bls.gov].
Re: (Score:2)
Who said it was decreasing? And no you don't get listed as unemployed forever.
"Weakest recovery?" More like best situation. (Score:2)
fuck making people go to the office. It's a waste of everyone's time and energy, and it causes pollution and more traffic and reduces productivity, all so micromanaging twats can feel good about themselves.