JLL: Weak Economy Threatens Cleveland

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.”