Leasing demand in San Antonio’s office market has remained steady, keeping vacancies in the relatively tight range for the past decade; that is, generally no higher than 11 percent and no lower than 9 percent. This is due in part to an economy driven primarily by defense, tourism and healthcare as well as the energy and financial services sectors, according to a report by NAI Partners.

Defense and healthcare should continue to serve the market well during a downturn, stabilizing the market. San Antonio’s diverse economic base, a base that is not overly dependent on global financial markets, is one of the reasons it tends to manage relatively well during downturns.

The metro’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in November, the lowest since March 2020. The state’s jobless rate decreased slightly to 5.2 percent, and the nation’s rate contracted to 4.2 percent, also the lowest since March 2020.

In the three months ending in November, San Antonio’s labor force expanded an annualized 6.8 percent, well above Texas’ 3.6 percent and the nation’s 1.3 percent gains. The leisure and hospitality sector led growth (24.1 percent), followed by mining (11.2 percent), and professional and business services (9 percent).

In March and April 2020 combined, 138,332 jobs were lost in the metro as the pandemic hit. As of November 2021, 87.3 percent of those jobs had been recovered, says NAI Partners.