Nearly half of NYC workers are back in Manhattan offices: poll
New Yorkers are starting to trickle back to work after more than two years of remote employment during the COVID-19 pandemic — with Manhattan offices 49% occupied on an average weekday, a new survey from the Partnership for New York shows.
The newest back-to-work figure for mid-September represents a significant jump from April, when Manhattan offices were just 38% full on an average weekday.
But despite the increase, just 9% of Manhattan workers are going in five days a week, indicating that some level of hybrid scheduling is now a prominent feature of the modern workplace.
“Employers remain committed to staying in New York City: 54% expect their office employee headcount will increase or stay the same over the next five years; only 10% expect a decline. Moreover, most do not have plans to reduce their real estate footprint in the city at this time despite the increase in days of remote work,” PNY said in a statement about the poll, sounding an optimistic note.
Another 37% said they are going into the office three days a week and 16% of Manhattan-based office workers responded that they are working fully remote.
Nonetheless, 77% percent of employers favor a schedule blending in person and remote work as a key part of their post-pandemic policy.
The real estate industry recorded the highest daily attendance rate at 82% of workers, followed by law firms at 61% and financial services firms at 56%.
The analysis was conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 among 160 Manhattan-based companies.
The slow return to the office has complicated the finances of the MTA by depressing ridership on subways, buses and commuter railroads as employees continue to work from home during some of the week.
Transit officials celebrated Thursday as the subway turnstiles, clocking 3.7 million daily taps and swipes for the first time since COVID-19 pummeled the Big Apple, but that’s still just 62.9% of the pre-pandemic ridership.
“There’s no question that some version of work from home is here to stay,” said MTA Chairman Janno Lieber in a press conference at Grand Central. “But the surge in ridership that we’re seeing says that back to the office is a meaningful trend.”
He declined to comment on the survey specifically.
