In a City Hall address on Thursday afternoon to unveil a new budget, Mayor Bloomberg noted Manhattan’s office market as a barometer of the city’s overall economic health:

So everybody clap your hands and say yeah! A strong local economy has generally meant a strong office market (low vacancy rates, higher asking rents) due to the office-based jobs that such an economy generates; and elected officials can then point to a strong office market as a sign of a strong local economy. Everyone wins in this symbiosis.

Especially landlords and building traders.