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Remote work costing NYC $12.4B a year: Report
Post-pandemic remote work is taking a major financial toll on New York City, with a new study showing that workers are spending over $4,000 less per year in and around their offices, costing the city over $12B a year.
NEW YORK - The shift to remote work has battered New York City's economy, with office workers in spending $4,661 less per person in the areas near their offices than before the pandemic began, according to a new study.
The study by WFH Research shows that New York City has seen the largest reduction in spending in the nation, which, according to a Bloomberg analysis, is costing the city a whopping $12.4B a year.
"Less spending by workers in the central areas means a lot less sales tax revenue," Jose Maria Barrero, a professor at Mexico’s Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo and a member of the WFH Research group, told Bloomberg. "If you have fewer commuters, that means less revenue."
Credit: WFH Research
A survey by Partnership for New York City in January showed that just 52% of Manhattan office workers are at their workplace on an average weekday, up from 49% in September 2022. Only 9% of employees in the city are back in the office five days a week.
Getting workers back to the office full-time has been a significant focus of Mayor Eric Adams' administration.
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Back to the office for many NYC workers
Working from home is over for a lot of workers as companies order them to end remote work and head back to the office.