Back to work

JP Morgan, the largest bank in the world in terms of market value, is likely to announce full-time employees must work five days a week in the office, ending a hybrid work option. The five-day-a-week policy was already in effect for senior staff and various other banks like Goldman Sachs have had such a policy for longer. Looking beyond banks at the broader workforce, data from property security firm Kastle, which counts office card swipes, shows office occupancy has plateaued between 40% and 60% in the US depending on the city. The national average hovers around 50%. San Jose, which is home to many technology companies, has the lowest occupancy of the 10 cities Kastle publishes data on. At the same time, Dallas, where mobility restrictions were more lenient, has the highest office occupancy. The low occupancy is becoming problematic for office property owners. The delinquency rate of commercial mortgage-backed securities in the office segment have risen from 2% in 2023 to 11% in December 2024, similar to the record level reached in 2012 after the financial crisis.

Source: Kastle, January 2025.