America's offices are in 'uncharted territory' as vacancies hit an all-time high

• The national office vacancy rate has hit a record 19.6%, according to Moody's Analytics. 
• That beats the prior record of 19.3%, which has been hit twice before.
• The surge represents the steepest quarterly rise since 2021, and is 280 basis points higher than pre-pandemic.

America's offices are trending in the wrong direction, even as the broader US economy looks to be on solid footing. 

According to a report from Moody's Analytics, which described the US office market as being in "uncharted territory" in a report on Monday, the national office vacancy rate climbed 40 basis points last quarter to a record-breaking 19.6%.