DALLAS—A recent CBRE MarketFlash examined projected office employment in many of the large metros within the Lone Star State. In exploring future corporate office space demand, the report forecasts how Texas Triangle markets, specifically Dallas/Fort Worth, are expected to perform amid the five-year outlook for office jobs and space.
DFW's diverse economy is setting the stage for steady employment growth, fueled by an ever-growing office employment population, the report indicates. As the fourth most-populated US metropolitan area, DFW is a hotbed for attracting a qualified workforce to drive the many diverse economic sectors powering the economy.
Recent employment figures from March 2018 have kept DFW firmly at the top of the list of US cities with the fastest-growing employment sectors. Preliminary figures show that the metro added 101,200 payrolls year-over-year, translating to a growth rate of 2.8%. This job boom has in turn pushed unemployment down to record low levels, creating a very tight skilled labor market.
For example, the 10-year high for DFW was 8.3% in 2010, compared to the current much lower rate of 3.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the past seven years, the office employment sector has grown by nearly 25%. This is best exemplified in the robust development pipeline in the metroplex as it struggles to keep up with this raging demand.
“The rate of DFW's expansion in the last few years has been quite incredible, especially when compared to metros of similar size,” Robert Kramp, director of research and analysis at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “Since 2010, the metroplex has added 750,800 jobs, with well more of those being within office occupying users according to CBRE Econometric Advisors. While we are not likely to gain more than 100,000 jobs this year, the slowing pace of job growth is not a sign that employers are not adding new jobs. But instead, we are essentially at full employment and jobs here are being unfilled.”
As the DFW economy slows down from the current fire-on-all-cylinders speed in this most recent cycle, the next three years are forecasted to remain relatively stable. Positive absorption is expected through 2022, as one of the longest DFW expansion cycles continues.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
