Seattle office market faces an uncertain outlook as economic storm clouds threaten recovery

With the U.S. economy exhibiting signs of a possible recession, as well as a sense of gloom spreading over the tech industry with job cuts beginning to mount, the Seattle office market finds itself at a precarious point in time. For now, the area economy is a picture of relative health, with the region witnessing 8.2% annual growth in May in office-using employment, while unemployment fell to 2.8%. While the latter statistic is often a lagging indicator, Seattle companies have propelled decent leasing activity throughout most of the pandemic. That said, the market witnessed a slight pullback in leasing activity this quarter, with approximately 900,000 sf leased, a decline of 17.8% from the same period last year.

Read the full report