Things are looking promising for the company office

[Silver Ridge Market Report Logo] [Privacy Policy]( | [Advertiser Disclosure]( Dear Reader, The unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 1969 with total employment at a record 155 million payrolls. Meanwhile, U.S. GDP is at a record high, and record-high corporate earnings are expected to keep growing. There is no shortage of metrics showing that business activity has more than recovered from the depths of the pandemic losses. But the world is different today in many ways. And it’s the metrics that aren’t close to recovering that tell us how things have changed. One stat that I find endlessly fascinating is office occupancy rates. Security firm Kastle Systems tracks building access activity for 41,000 businesses across 47 states. During the week ending February 15, the office occupancy rate for the top 10 cities tracked was 49.8%. Sure, this rate is well above its pandemic-era lows. But it’s still down by more than half from its pre-pandemic level. In a report published Wednesday exploring commercial real estate activity, Wells Fargo economists observed that the office vacancy rate has only been climbing since the pandemic began. It was at 12.5% in Q4 2022. This is a lot to think about. I often think about March 2020, when employers sent employees home en masse. Businesses had to quickly adapt to an incredibly difficult situation. The rapid recovery in business activity and profits has been a reminder that it’s dangerous to bet against Corporate America. I also think about how things would’ve been very different 30 years ago before most homes were wired for broadband internet. Being able to email PDFs and share screens over Zoom is a lot more efficient than waiting for the mail to arrive or for the fax to come in. Then again, it’s a much bigger problem these days if the internet goes down or the company server has an outage. There’s much more to be said about the state of offices. And there are many other metrics that aren’t close to having returned to pre-pandemic levels. The bottom line is that the business environment today is very different from the one we had in the past. This is not to say that we should throw out the lessons of history. But when analyzing emerging challenges that have historical precedent, we should always be open to the possibility that the outcome the next time around could be different. Editor, Silver Ridge Market Report Andrew Graham [A Graham Signature] [Privacy Policy]( | [Advertiser Disclosure]( P.S. This earnings season is in full swing... Trading around earnings announcements can provide unique short-term trading opportunities, which are almost immune from overall market volatility. To help you take full advantage of this opportunity, we’ve created a free ebook – [The Ultimate Strategy Guide To Trade Earnings]( – that outlines the quickest ways to capitalize on this type of trading. [Click Here to Claim Your FREE Ultimate Strategy Guide To Trade Earnings.]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Advertiser Disclosure]( 406 Media and Silver Ridge Market Report, is not giving individualized financial advice. Never invest more than you are willing to lose. 406 Media or Silver Ridge Market Report is not giving financial, investment, or stock advice. Our content is designed for generalized informational purposes only. If you have specific questions about investments or stocks you should consult a financial advisor. Articles, News, Or Other published materials are not always the views of 406 Media and/or Silver Ridge Market Report. If you feel you are receiving these emails in error please email Support@SilverRidgePro.com or click the unsubscribe button below. 30 N Gould St, STE R, Sheridan WY 82801 This e-mail has been sent to {EMAIL}, [click here to unsubscribe](.