An office recovery plateau that has been observed over the past few months persisted in May, as office visits dipped modestly during the month, according to Placer.ai’s nationwide office building index.
Visits were down 1% year-over-year and more than 37% below 2019 levels, suggesting the overall office recovery has slowed, according to the report. The May performance follows a stronger April showing when nationwide office visits increased nearly 5% year-over-year and were down 30% from 2019 levels.
Placer.ai said a calendar shift could partially drive the weaker May numbers. This year, May had an extra Saturday and one less workday than 2024 and 2019. The report also suggests that Americans may have taken more time off around Memorial Day this year, pointing to TSA data that shows airports were busier on the Friday before Memorial Day this year than they were on the same Friday in 2024.
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However, the data also suggests that hybrid and remote work continue to weigh on office recovery. Placer.ai cited a Gallup poll that found more than half of U.S. employees work in a hybrid environment and more than one-quarter are fully remote. These work arrangements are proving difficult to change, said Placer.ai.
New York City and Miami continue to lead the country in office visits, although both cities saw slight year-over-year declines. New York office visits were about 18.4% below 2019 levels and Miami office visits were 19.6% below 2019 levels.
Southern hubs followed, with visits down 32.1% in Atlanta, 35.5% in Dallas and 36.2% in Houston compared with May 2019. Aided by corporate relocations, Dallas and Houston both recorded office visit increases compared with 2024, with the Bayou City's office traffic increasing 8.3%. In addition, Georgia and Texas have experienced population increases in recent years, which may also be contributing to stronger office visit performance, as pointed out by Placer.ai.
Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco all remain between 40% and 51% below 2019 office visit levels. Besides Boston, each of these markets experienced year-over-year declines in traffic, according to the report.
“While some regional bright spots exist, the return to pre-pandemic office traffic remains elusive, largely due to the enduring popularity of hybrid and remote work models,” said Placer.ai.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
