D-FW tops the nation by adding 60,000 new office jobs

Dallas-Fort Worth’s beleaguered office building market is getting a boost from strong employment gains, with the area leading the country in the addition of office sector jobs in the last year.

D-FW’s office employment is growing at more than twice the recent national rate, according to a new report by real estate technology firm Yardi Systems.

“Dallas has added nearly 60,000 office jobs in the last 12 months, double the amount added in second place Boston (29,400), and has accounted for 15% of all office jobs added during that timeframe nationwide,” Yardi analysts said.

The professional and business service sector accounted for much of D-FW’s growth, with 37,600 jobs added in the last 12 months, according to Yardi. Financial services (18,100) and information services (4,200) also recorded solid gains.

For the year ending in July, D-FW’s office jobs grew by almost 5%. Nationwide, office employment rose by less than 2%.

Austin and Houston have also seen higher-than-average office job gains this year, according to Yardi’s estimates.

The strong job increases are good news for local building owners, who have struggled to get workers back to the office since the pandemic. Only about 63% of North Texas office workers are in the buildings on peak days of the week, according to estimates by Kastle Systems.

Net office leasing this year is down in many major D-FW office districts, including Richardson, downtown Dallas and West Plano.

Despite the slowdown in leasing, more than 4 million square feet of additional office space is being built in D-FW.

Total D-FW employment – including office workers – grew by about 178,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among major U.S. markets, only New York City has added more jobs in the last year.