New data from the Federal Reserve shows workers feel confident and expect additional job offers with higher salaries, another data point suggesting firms need to focus time and resources on retention and hiring, with commercial real estate no exception.

The positive outlook was a highlight of a Sept. 7 survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data, which compared recent expectations versus those of July 2020. The report found that 4.5% more workers had been searching for a job, 3% more expected to get a new job offer, and the average expected salary for a new job increased, from $54,646 in July 2020 to $57,207 today.

Recruiters and analysts in CRE said they’ve seen these demands at work, with a challenging labor market pushing firms to increase salary offers and increase compensation to hire and retain talent.

“We are absolutely seeing salary increases, which have honestly been a long time coming,” Carly Glova, president of Building Careers, a commercial real estate talent firm, told Bisnow. “Salaries in CRE have remained generally flat over the past 10 years and in just the past six months, they have skyrocketed."

These dynamics are also slowing down rehiring for many firms, slowing the pace of firms staffing up and eventually reoccupying their workplaces. JLL Chief Economist Ryan Severino said in a report that, “CRE would see a boost if open positions were filled, especially in the office market where fewer workers means less demand for space.”