CLEVELAND—Many industrial cities in the Midwest have not fared well when it comes to job creation. The Cleveland area in particular has struggled more than most and slipping jobs numbers could limit office leasing and investment activity in the coming year, according to a fourth quarter office report by Jones Lang LaSalle. However, JLL also noted that in 2013 the metro area did experience decent net absorption and a decline in vacancy. Furthermore, the recent announcement by Arhaus Furniture that it had chosen to build its new 770,000-square-foot headquarters in suburban Boston Heights, at a time when many experts thought new construction would slow, showed that 2014 still has some promise.

The Cleveland area lost 7,700 jobs in the twelve months leading up to October 2013, JLL noted, the only large metro area to lose jobs over the same time period. As reported in GlobeSt.com last August, many of the job losses have occurred in the government sector. And JLL cited federal statistics that show contraction in professional and business services as well, which “equates to lukewarm forecasting for office leasing activity in the months ahead.”

But the successful delivery and leasing of the 18-floor Ernst & Young Tower on the waterfront helped drive more than 600,000-square-feet of absorption during 2013, JLL added, the most activity the city has had in years. The Arhaus plan to break ground on its $43 million headquarters was another hopeful sign, especially since the company had considered moving operations to North Carolina or South Carolina. Still, “given the weak employment numbers observed thus far this year,” JLL noted, “little to no office demand growth is expected in the short term.”