This year we’re analyzing geographic hiring trends across NYC, our biggest market, and sharing insights about where Clarity candidates are being placed most. Our findings are based on real data from real placements that have been made by Clarity from January 1st through the end of March, 2019.

While midtown, which includes several neighborhoods, still pulls in first as the area in which we’ve placed most candidates in Q1 2019 – 114 placements! – times are definitely changing! Watch out midtown, companies and employees have discovered great alternatives to the classic midtown high-rise life! Coupled with loft style office layouts and neighborhoods with great dining options, stylish downtown neighborhoods are in the limelight right now. The face of office life in NYC is continuing to transition to accommodate the desires of top talent, which has caused companies to re-evaluate their spaces, and what areas they want to call home. In a tight labor market, this matters a lot. Why the dramatic shift away from midtown? Based on supplemental insights gleaned from conversations with our candidates, here are three characteristics trending right now in NYC workplaces that reflect what’s true of many neighborhoods south of Penn + Grand Central stations that we’ve placed candidates in during Q1.

Flexibility

People are looking for more flexible working styles. This doesn’t simply mean they need to work from home, or work less hours ー in fact it’s often the opposite! With productivity expectations heightening in many growth-oriented companies and hours shifting longer, companies have made substantial efforts to create working environments conducive to long days.  By equipping spaces with design-minded furnishings and setup optimized communal co-working for teams, employees are happier in their surroundings. With more companies issuing laptops, people feel free from the confines of cubicle life or overly close quarters. Flatiron loft spaces are fit to provide the right canvas to develop these environments, and is home to many desirable companies that we recruit for, with SoHo and TriBeCa not far behind.

• Flatiron District – 86 hires
• SoHo – 26 hires
• TriBeCa – 19 hires

Lifestyle

Many of our smaller clients as well as growth-oriented clients are joining the ranks of their successful predecessors and joining co-working communities, while they scale up. Alternatively, they’re trying to make their corporate HQs feel like them, which relates directly to added flexibility employees crave. Business owners and executives benefit from this by minimizing office clutter and leaving office management to places like WeWork, or hiring managed services like our friends Managed by Q. This leaves more time to focus on what your business is building. Neighborhoods like FiDi are getting with the program, and many companies outside the realm of finance are setting up shop there. Formerly industrial enclaves such as DUMBO in Brooklyn who are converting formerly unused spaces into modern offices as well,  and this neighborhood is defining itself as a popular tech startup hub.

• Financial District – 26 hires
• DUMBO – 2 hires

Creativity

You don’t need to work at a design firm to be a creative! Creativity is an increasingly essential trait required to succeed in business in order to get ahead of the competition. For many companies, simply setting up an office in a creative part of town can inspire creative outcomes. Take Hudson Yards for example. With offices overlooking the hottest creative destinations in town, The Shed and The Vessel, it’s impossible not to be inspired no matter what industry you are in. Comparable amounts of our candidates were placed in other uniquely creative zones as well – Chelsea and the East Village, known for decades as artistic destinations spanning prestigious galleries to iconic street art.

• Hudson Yards – *New on that map this quarter!* 8 hires
• East Village – 8 Hires
• Chelsea – 10 hires

Proximity

While the above are sought after features trending downtown, proximity and convenience still matter. They matter a lot! Midtown may be challenged by emerging and unconventional workspace trends, however, midtown remains extremely convenient, and home to many of our valued clients. We make a lot of office visits to our clients also, and we’ve seen many update their spaces in order to stay on top of what top talent is seeking.

Have you worked in various NYC neighborhoods? What’s your favorite and why? We’d love to hear!

Here’s the complete breakdown for Q1!