Don't count office out yet. While the office sector has clearly struggled through the pandemic, office-using employment recovery indicates future demand for physical workspaces.

In the third quarter, office-using employment rebounded quickly. According to data from Newmark, more than 30% of private sector office-using jobs lost in second quarter were recovered by the end of the third quarter. The 15 largest office markets in the country—many of which have been the hardest hit by the pandemic-driven downturn—have seen the strongest recovery in office-using jobs. Typically, the recapture of lost jobs is much slower during a recession, making the speed of this recovery all the more reassuring for both office and multifamily landlords.

Professional and business services drove the recovery of office-using employment during the third quarter, accounting for the largest number of recovered jobs. The Seattle and Dallas markets regained 94.1% and 71.8% of jobs in this sector, respectively. The financial activities sector had the fastest recovery with several markets, including Dallas, Seattle and Riverside regaining more jobs than were lost in the second quarter, according to the research from Newmark.