Office space rental plunges in expensive cities

What: Even before the pandemic places like Manhattan were seeing drops in office lease activity and as of April 2020 the numbers were down 62% compared to 2019. Companies are either downsizing or moving to the suburbs. 

So What: As companies move away from expensive cities, the impact on infrastructure and local service jobs are huge. There will be significant and long-lasting effects on restaurants, transportation, retail, real estate and more as the number of customers decreases. 

Deep Dive:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-new-york-city-offices-still-closed-companies-consider-downsizingor-heading-for-the-suburbs-2020-05-13
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/nyregion/coronavirus-work-from-home.html

This article is part of Emerging Futures of Remote Work – An Institute for the Future Signals Report for The Remote Lab