Study: U.S. Buildings Operations Contribute $234.9 Billion to GDP, Support 1.75 Million Jobs
Economic Impact Study Reveals Roughly One-Third of U.S. Workers Work in BOMA Office Space
(WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 24, 2016) The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International announces the release of Where America Goes to Work: The Contributions of Office Building Operations to the Economy, 2016, which details the impact of commercial office space on the national and local economies. The biennial report shows that the short- and long-term expenditures that sustain office building operations—management, maintenance, repairs, building services and utilities—generate significant, continuous and growing expenditures that support local businesses, create job demand and contribute significantly to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The power of commercial real estate as an economic engine, however, frequently is overlooked by the millions of office workers who take for granted the properties they occupy each work day.
The new study finds that the 10.5 billion square feet of commercial office space located within the markets served by BOMA International’s U.S. local associations generated $89.1 billion in operational expenditures in 2015—$7 billion more than in 2013—to the benefit of workers and businesses within their host jurisdictions and contributing nearly $235 billion to the national GDP. For each dollar laid out in building operations expenditures, the U.S. economy gained $2.64. These numbers reveal that this otherwise “hidden” industry is a major force in U.S. commerce.
BOMA itself also plays a significant role in supporting the national economy; last year, buildings owned and managed by BOMA members provided work space for an estimated 46.9 million office jobs—meaning roughly one-third of all U.S. workers work in BOMA office space.
Other significant findings detailed in the study include:
- For every $1 million spent on office building operations in 2015, 19.6 jobs were supported nationwide;
- The $89.1 billion spent on building operations annually supported 1.75 million jobs directly and indirectly locally, statewide and nationally;
- For each dollar spent on office building operations, workers in the U.S. realized an increase of $0.76 in personal earnings, generating a total of $67.4 billion in new earnings for workers residing within these office market areas and respective state economies in 2015;
- The indirect and induced job impact of this spending and re-spending of payroll dollars in the state and national economies was estimated at 1.3 million jobs across all sectors.
“Commercial real estate is an enormous and significant industry with far-reaching benefits to the U.S. economy,” explained the author of the report, Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D., Dwight Schar faculty chair and university professor and the senior advisor and director of Special Projects for the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “Presently, 29 percent of the national economy—its GDP—is housed within office buildings. No other sector generates more GDP, and this percentage is increasing every year. There can be no doubt that a healthy, growing U.S. economy depends on well-managed and operated office space, as do the jobs and wages supported by the commercial real estate industry.”
“This study illustrates what property professionals have known all along: that the commercial real estate industry plays a critical role in the U.S. economy,” added BOMA International Chair Kent C. Gibson, BOMA Fellow, president of Capstone Property Management, L.C. “From significant contributions to the national GDP to its part in generating substantial personal earnings, the commercial real estate industry is a critical component of our national economic health.”
The analysis included all office buildings, inclusive of tenant-occupied buildings, buildings owned by their occupants and government-owned office buildings. The report also delves into the economic impact of office building operations in the markets served by each of BOMA International’s local associations.
Download the report at www.boma.org/EconomicImpact.
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About BOMA International
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is a federation of 91 BOMA U.S. associations and 18 international affiliates. Founded in 1907, BOMA represents the owners and managers of all commercial property types including 10.5 billion square feet of U.S. office space that supports 1.7 million jobs and contributes $234.9 billion to the U.S. GDP. Its mission is to advance a vibrant commercial real estate industry through advocacy, influence and knowledge. Learn more at www.boma.org.
Contact
Jessica Bates
Manager of Communications & Marketing
BOMA International
(202) 326-6348
jbates@boma.org