(Highlights from Marcus & Millichap‘s most recent Research Brief, by managing director Hessam Nadji. For the full report, click here.)

CALABASAS, CA-First quarter hiring averaged 225,000 positions monthly, but the rate of job additions slackened dramatically in the second quarter to an average of 75,000 positions per month as rising uncertainty caused employers to assume a more cautious stance. June’s employment figure culminated this subdued trend, and for the third year in a row, hiring slowed dramatically entering the summer months. Headwinds, including the European debt crisis and the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill, have restrained employers, but recent headway in Europe, including the proposed creation of a centralized bailout fund, has begun to create some guarded optimism. The upcoming elections in November and, hopefully, a resolution of the tax extension debate, raise the prospect of a stronger hiring trend late this year.

The Impact on Commercial Real Estate: * Operating conditions in the U.S. office sector continue to improve, albeit at a very gradual pace. Absorption has remained positive for six consecutive quarters, but the gains in occupied stock have not been sufficient to generate a substantive change in vacancy levels. Since peaking at 17.6 percent in late 2010, vacancy has slowly edged lower to the current level of 17.2 percent. Until companies begin adding more permanent office staff, rather than relying on temp employees, office absorption will only modestly outpace limited additions to supply.

* Although hiring has been limited in recent months, new rental households continue to form at a healthy pace. An additional 25,000 apartments were occupied in the second quarter, pushing the nationwide vacancy rate lower by 20 basis points to 4.7 percent, the lowest level in more than 10 years. Effective rents continue to advance, rising 1.2 percent in the second quarter. As the rate of hiring slows through the summer, however, absorption may taper off, reducing the upward pressure on rents.