DALLAS—Despite the downward pressure on oil prices, the local market is thriving, adding 134,000 jobs in the last year, an annual increase of 4.1 percent, according to a recent Q1 office market report released by PM Realty Group (PMRG).

The diversification of jobs in North Texas has propelled the market to continue performing as one of the nation's best-achieving economies, the report says. 

The industry sectors with the most jobs created in the prior 12 months were trade, transportation and utilities (31,100 or 4.7 percent growth); professional and business services (27,200 or 5.2 percent growth); and leisure and hospitality (18,100 or 5.7 percent growth). As a result of the job growth, the area's unemployment rate has dropped 120 basis points to 4.4 percent over the prior 12 months and remains below the national average of 5.5 percent.

Other findings:

• The DFW office market recorded 1,528,516 square feet of direct-net absorption during the first quarter, increasing its trailing 12-month absorption count to nearly 4.7 million square feet, the largest 12-month gain since this time in 2001.
• Class A full-service rental rates improved by $0.12 to $25.12 per square foot during the first quarter, and have increased 4.6 percent (or $1.10) over the prior 12 months.
• The office construction pipeline has increased 8.5 percent within the past year to nearly 6.0 million square feet.

Build-to-suit projects for State Farm Insurance, Toyota Motor Co., Raytheon, the Federal Aviation Administration, FedEx, Monitronics Inc., the Dallas Cowboys and 7-Eleven have all either begun construction or have plans to begin construction later in 2015, with numerous other companies expressing interest in expanding or consolidating their DFW footprints.