Job growth is up in Philly, but many downtown offices remain vacant

As Philadelphia has emerged from the economic slump of the pandemic job development in the city boomed compared other large urban centers across the country according to a new analysis of federal employment figures The increase in jobs was bolstered by the recovery of arts and entertainment organizations hotels restaurants and other utility industry firms over the past five years along with the long-term upsurge of hospitals and other healthcare providers per a review by the Center City District business association CCD Employment has recovered much more robustly since than it did after the Great Recession of - suggesting certain fundamentals in Philly s financial system are stronger than they were before CCD stated The recovery is evident in Center City which has seen substantial job advance since the historic lows of the recession and now has more people working there than at any time since the s At the same time the record notes that local employment in office sector fields like finance and real estate has remained nearly flat and a shift to working from home has contributed to continued high office vacancy rates in the business district The employment increases have been insufficient to meaningfully stabilize or advance Center City s commercial office sector it mentioned The account s authors are calling on the city and state to take major policies to encourage companies to re-fill those buildings and redevelop underused sites They include designating Arena Street in Center City as a Keystone Opportunity Zone which would eliminate majority of state and city taxes in an effort to boost stake Our city has fundamentally strengthened its position as a regional employment leader and talent magnet The challenge for our downtown is that this job and talent progress has not materially improved the office sphere as that entire sector has struggled to find stability in modern years announced Clint Randall the organization s vice president of economic growth A rebound for key industries Employment in Philadelphia grew to jobs in March according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics That means the number of jobs in the city has grown since according to CCD That puts it in second place for five-year job expansion among the U S counties with the preponderance workers Only New York saw a higher figure at The average across all counties was By contrast after the Great Recession Philly s job enhancement was just from to far below the average of other large counties The industries driving the new increase were arts entertainment and recreation accommodation and food services and other services including civic associations personal services and repair and maintenance according to a Philadelphia Employment Review that CCD issued Wednesday Those industries were the majority affected by the economic freeze of the pandemic and have rebounded since then Looking back over the full years since the Great Recession much of the city s job expansion has occurred at a broad variety of companies in the medical care and social assistance industry hospitals nursing facilities various types of clinics rehab programs child care providers and urgency food and housing programs among others Jobs in wellbeing care and related areas have grown more consistently than any other sector for the last years the statement stated Office jobs are largely static Those health-related businesses and organizations climbed from accounting for of the city s total jobs in to now the CCD disclosed They saw job development every year except and hiring has been especially strong lately at in in and last year In sharp contrast office sector industries information finance insurance real estate professional services and management of companies have seen combined job enhancement of just since The figure surged in as the pandemic ebbed but was just higher in The number of office jobs dropped last year The sectors that drive occupancy in Center City s office district are largely static the CCD declared The record takes various solace from input showing that the office sector has done even worse in at least one neighboring suburban county Although overall employment rise in this sector has been minimal over the past years Philadelphia s performance has outshone neighboring Montgomery County which dominated our region s office financial system for decades it disclosed Philly has more office jobs now than it did in while in Montco they ve declined In the city surpassed Montgomery County in the number of such positions Looking at job upsurge overall the city has generally outperformed the nearby Pennsylvania counties Since for example employment has increased in Philly in Bucks County in Montgomery in Chester County and in Delaware County Overcoming downtown s drawbacks The document painted a mixed picture of the city s office real estate sector While Philly s office vacancy rate is high at that s in line with other major northeast cities while in places like Denver Austin San Francisco and Chicago the rate approaches or exceeds In northeast business districts the structural advantages preventing vacancy from rising to Denver or Austin levels their walkability accessibility via transit and large residential populations living in close proximity must be capitalized upon to drive up occupancy and stabilize office buildings experiencing financial hardship the statement explained In surveys conducted by CCD commercial real estate firms revealed that before the pandemic companies needed to be in Center City primarily to have better access to a larger younger and more diverse talent pool They also liked having a central location in the region and proximity to clients But more in recent weeks prospective tenants have been repelled by perceptions of quality-of-life issues and diminished safety and the city s overly complex or burdensome tax structure To boost expenditure the whole of Sphere Street between the two rivers should be designated as a Keystone Opportunity Innovation Zone and the city should explore other regime incentive programs such as Qualified Opportunity Zones and Transit Revitalization Venture Districts CCD argued Those subsidies could help finance redevelopment and construction in the economically stagnant Region East corridor and ease the path for more leasing in Area West the record disclosed Realm East has been in limbo since the ers canceled their plan for a new basketball arena there in January The city s Planning Department has for months been promising a comprehensive planning process for the area but has yet to say when it will launch CCD revealed improving the pedestrian conditions in Center City would also make the area more welcoming for businesses considering locating their offices or stores there Owners of underused office buildings in the district s western section should get help renovating their first-floor spaces so the Rittenhouse Row retail and restaurant area can expand northwards the document commented CCD also advocates making the streetscape more inviting through citizens events and park improvements and doing more to address an increase in unhoused people which it declared discourages visitors and business from coming to Center City The post Job rise is up in Philly but countless downtown offices remain vacant appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY