September 10, 2024
South Florida continues to lead the nation in the rate of employees returning to the office. At least 9 out of 10 office workers are now back in-person compared to pre-pandemic levels according to a recent report from Placer.ai.
Are workers back 5 days per week?
Not exactly. Because of the growing DowntownFTL employment base, in-person attendance at the office exceeds pre-pandemic levels on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. But Thursdays and Fridays remain at least 20-points below pre-pandemic rates.
What about everyone still working at home?
Fort Lauderdale’s allure as a place to work is driven by its appeal for both remote and in-person work.
Remote work is still popular in South Florida – about 10% to 15% of DowntownFTL residents are still working out of their apartment buildings according to Placer. Largely, these employees are part of the growing base of technology workers living in our region and working for companies based all over the world.
While remote work is here to stay, Downtown Fort Lauderdale has largely been immune from any negative impacts caused by declining foot traffic of office workers. The DowntownFTL population has increased by 38% since 2020 with the urban core adding over 7,000 jobs over the last four years.
This healthy balance of in-person and remote work continues to sustain the downtown economy while keeping our businesses and streets active with foot traffic.
What is happening elsewhere?
South Florida employees are back at the office at a rate 20 points greater than the national average.
Notably, New York City is making a comeback after being perceived as entering a “doom loop.” About 8 out of 10 employees are back in-person after a multi-year period where no more than 60% of workers returned to the office.
While it’s clear that remote work is here to stay in some capacity, it’s evident that downtown offices are on their way to returning to their pre-pandemic ways of doing business.