In the first quarter, 57 office markets tracked by CBRE experienced negative net absorption, meaning more space was vacated than leased. That pushed the total office vacancy rate to a fresh 30-year high of 19 percent.

As the latest quarterly leasing data for major cities across the United States becomes available, it is clear vacancy has remained elevated across many markets throughout the second quarter, and some are continually registering record highs.

In the tech hub of San Francisco, the vacancy rate grew to a record 37 percent, up from 36.4 percent in the prior quarter. Though the growth of AI companies has helped to blunt the cratering of demand for office space in the city, more square footage is still being vacated than leased. The latest quarter’s figures are equivalent to a net decline (or negative absorption) of about –442,000 square feet, according to CBRE data. Though there is less of a drought in Washington, D.C., which has seen vacancy soar to 22.4