Philadelphia’s economy is showing impressive strength, but that growth isn’t translating into filled office space. According to a new report from Center City District, the city’s business improvement district, Philadelphia has seen strong job growth over the past 15 years, even outperforming other major U.S. cities. However, vacant offices remain a challenge for the local real estate market.

The report highlights that much of the region’s job growth is concentrated in healthcare and similar sectors — industries where employees typically do not work in traditional office settings. Meanwhile, sectors that usually drive office leasing, such as finance, insurance, and real estate, have remained relatively flat in Philadelphia in recent years.

This shift reflects a broader trend in commercial real estate: as more jobs are created in non-office-based industries, demand for office leasing lags behind. For property owners, investors, and business leaders, this disconnect raises questions about how Philadelphia’s office space may need to be reimagined in the future.

For the Philadelphia real estate market, this means opportunities for redevelopment, adaptive reuse, and creative approaches to vacant office properties — particularly in Center City and surrounding suburbs. While job growth is a positive economic sign, the challenge remains: how to align office space supply with the evolving nature of work.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 9/17/2025