Office occupational demand was robust across Asia Pacific in 2018, with overall leasing activity up an impressive 20% for the whole year.
Financial, professional services and tech firms stood out as key demand drivers, while flexible space operators are still a notable source of leasing.
Demand for office space remains healthy in 2019
Occupational demand remains healthy entering 2019, despite significant downside risks to the outlook – e.g. China-US trade war, no-deal Brexit, etc. Companies across the region continue to expand to varying degrees, according to the Manpower Group’s Employment Outlook Survey 1Q19.
More employers plan to increase rather than decrease staffing levels in most Asia Pacific countries, with employers in Japan reporting the strongest hiring intentions.
The outlook for the office occupational market in Asia Pacific continues to be bright and JLL holds the view that 2019’s gross leasing volumes will be able to match that of 2018’s (see chart 1). Occupational demand is projected to sustain and remain broad-based with activity led by technology and financial services sector as well as flexible space operators.
By industry, technology companies continue to report optimistic hiring plans regionally, albeit there are reports that Chinese tech firms are re-evaluating their staffing needs.
In India, the hiring of tech talent will double in 2019 according to industry estimates, driven by the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and robotics for automation.
Elsewhere in the region, digitization is gathering pace and specialists in the niche areas of cyber security, big data and AI are in high demand.
The financial services sector, traditionally the main demand driver for the…
