Dallas-Fort Worth Tops the Country in Office Job Growth
Dallas-Fort Worth was the top U.S. market for growth in office jobs in 2019, and it’ll be another top generator in 2020, according to a forecast from commercial real estate firm CBRE.
Office jobs in the Dallas area grew 5.7% in 2019 — more than in tech markets San Francisco and Seattle, CBRE found. D-FW also outpaced Houston and Charlotte, N.C., two other fast-growing economies, in year-over-year office job gains. Texas’ business-friendly environment and growing tech hubs are credited for the strong performance.
“Dallas is appealing to a diverse population, from recent college graduates to C-suite executives, because of the quality of life, strength of our workforce, cost of living and central location,” Chelby Sanders, CBRE senior vice president, said in a statement. “D-FW is really coming into its own as a hip city with a vibrant nightlife, a thriving arts district and a variety of entertainment options that really offer something for everyone. “A comment we often hear from companies when visiting from out of state is, ‘Wow, I had no idea Dallas was this cool!’”
Dallas, Houston and Austin are all forecast to add even more office jobs in 2020. That’s good news for North Texas office developers, who are constructing more than 5.5 million square feet of buildings. “Tech, talent and low taxes continue to fuel Texas’s rising status as an inevitable, leading force in the U.S. economy,” Ian Anderson, CBRE Americas head of office research, said in the report. “2020 will be another year where companies and people from around the country relocate to the Lone Star State, leaving most of the rest of the country in envy of the growth in Dallas, Houston and Austin.”
Dallas-Fort Worth was the country’s top job growth market in 2019, with employment gains of more than 120,000 jobs during the year ending in November. Last year, expanding and relocating office tenants net-leased about 3.5 million square feet of office space — one of the best totals in a decade.
Business-friendly Texas cities, tech hubs and high-growth southeastern metro areas top the ranks of U.S. markets set to expand their base of office jobs the fastest in the coming years, according to a report from CBRE. Dallas led the country in job growth last year, with 5.7% year-over-year growth in office jobs. The area continues to look strong through 2020 with forecast growth of 2.1%. Texas has three of the top five job growth markets in the country, and Austin tops the list with projected job growth of 2.6% in 2020. Dallas comes in third, just behind San Francisco (2.5% projected growth). Houston (1.9%) and Orlando, Fla. (1.7%) round out the top five. CBRE analyzed the forecasts of its CBRE Econometric Advisors unit to identify which markets are expected to generate the largest percentage growth in office-using jobs — such as tech, professional and business services, legal and others — this year. It found that job growth in tech markets continues to defy high costs and tight labor supplies. Meanwhile, the relatively lower cost of living and business-friendly approach of Texas and various southeastern cities continue to stoke job gains...
