Consulting

Labor Analytics

Using workforce intelligence and location data to reduce labor costs and de-risk location decisions.

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Team of professionals collaborating around laptops and data charts in a modern office, representing CBRE Labor Analytics workforce and location strategy consulting.

Associated Contact

Mark W. Seeley

Executive Vice President

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Associated Contact

Kristin Sexton

Executive Vice President

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Labor analytics is a specialized practice of workforce analytics, applying primary research, proprietary data and scenario modeling to answer employers' most complex questions: where to find the right talent, what labor costs in a given market, and which locations best support a long-term location strategy.

CBRE has pioneered this approach since its inception in 1995, serving 50% of the Fortune 50 and generating over $800M in client savings across 3,000+ consulting projects.

2
x
CoreNetGlobal Innovator's award winner
$
800
M+
Generated in client savings
90
%
Repeat clientele and over 25 years of experience
50
%
Of the Fortune 50 rely on CBRE Labor Analytics

When Organizations Turn to Labor Analytics

Organizations engage CBRE Labor Analytics consultants at critical inflection points: when a new operational facility is planned, when leadership needs to understand what labor truly costs in a given market, or when a location decision carries enough risk that instinct alone is not enough.

We meet clients where they are. Some come with a specific market in mind and need evidence to validate it. Others arrive with a business problem and need us to identify the markets that solve it. Either way, the answer starts with data.

Organizations typically engage a location strategy consultant when they need to:

  • Determine where to locate critical business operations for long-term success.
  • Find and secure access to specialized talent pools.
  • Optimize labor costs without compromising workforce quality.
  • Assess how talent availability aligns with your existing real estate portfolio.
  • Reduce risk on real estate decisions using workforce-driven insights.
  • Evaluate markets before making major footprint changes.
  • Enable continuous, data-driven workforce planning and decision-making.

Client Outcomes

$325M in Labor Cost Savings (10 yr)
and 250 jobs created for Fortune 500 Technology Client located in New Orleans, LA
$52.3M in Labor Cost Savings (10 yr)
and 500 jobs created for a Public Finance Client located in Pittsburgh, PA
$350M in Labor Cost Savings (10 yr)
and 975 jobs created for a Fortune 500 Healthcare Client located in Irving, TX

Labor Analytics Solutions

CBRE Labor Analytics delivers end-to-end workforce analytics solutions that align talent strategy, location strategy, and business growth. Drawing on data sources unavailable through public channels, we capture what is happening in labor markets in real time, translating complex dynamics into clear, actionable intelligence.

Our scenario modeling capability allows clients to test multiple location options against workforce criteria before committing, reducing decision risk and accelerating the path to execution.

Workforce analytics and site selection are inseparable. Labor data is what makes a location decision defensible.

  • Existing locations/Workforce strategy
  • New locations
  • Market assessments and deep dives
  • Self-serve analytics
  • Economic incentives
  • Back office
  • Contact centers
  • Distribution center
  • Headquarters
  • Hub & satellite, agile
  • Manufacturing plant
  • Shared services
  • Advanced manufacturing
  • Business Process Outsourcer (BPO)
  • Financial services
  • Healthcare
  • Industrial & logistics
  • Life Sciences
  • Retail & hospitality
  • Technology

CBRE AI Impact Analysis - New Offering Launched Summer 2026

CBRE’s AI Impact Analysis helps organizations move beyond headlines to understand how generative AI will reshape their workforce, and what that means for their real estate and location strategy. Using a bespoke, data‑driven methodology, the offering quantifies AI exposure across jobs, tasks, and markets, translating workforce change into clear implications for headcount, space demand, and portfolio costs. Through scenario‑based modeling, clients gain forward‑looking insight into where automation and augmentation are most likely, how adoption may evolve over time, what new skills will be required and how to plan commercial real estate confidently amid AI‑driven uncertainty.

Headquarters Location Strategies

Headquarters are critical assets for companies from which corporate culture, branding and strategy are set. They house a company’s most key resource: talent.

From executive leadership to specialized roles with deep industry and technical knowledge, talent determines your headquarter location needs. With the changes and disruption brought on by the pandemic, corporations are increasingly evaluating their office locations and environment to ensure they meet the long-term needs of the business. Common strategies being employed include:

Line icon of a person beside a location pin representing talent location strategies
Talent location strategies to align the footprint with the business
Line icon of a branching hierarchy diagram representing hub and spoke strategies
Hub and spoke strategies to maximize access to talent in the hybrid world
Line icon of a laptop displaying a bar chart with a dollar sign, representing cost reduction strategies
Cost reduction strategies using labor cost as a key needle-mover
Line icon of a trophy with a star representing workplace strategies that improve talent attraction
Workplace strategies that improve attraction, retention and productivity of the workforce

The Benefits of Labor Analytics

The right labor market intelligence changes the economics of every location decision. Clients who engage CBRE Labor Analytics average 15 to 20 percent in annual labor cost savings, with more than $500 million in aggregate annual savings across the client base.

Those outcomes are driven by a scale and precision that no other provider matches. Our team conducts more than 10,000 interviews with local labor market experts each year. We track more than 15,000 competitive employers across headcount, industry, and functional data, and monitor more than 20,000 articles to capture corporate expansion and contraction as it happens.

That depth of intelligence means clients can benchmark labor cost with confidence, validate talent availability before committing to a market, and de-risk location decisions that carry long-term operational consequences.

Workforce Analytics Technology That Powers Smarter Decisions

CBRE Labor Analytics delivers insight through a suite of proprietary technology platforms that provide real-time data, self-serve analytics and customizable modeling capabilities.

Labor Analytics Technology Products

Connecting Labor Analytics Across CBRE Consulting

CBRE Labor Analytics connects services across our Consulting platform, providing data-backed labor market intelligence that informs every stage of the location, workplace and portfolio decision process. Whether a client is building a location strategy, renegotiating a lease or evaluating where their workforce will be in five years, labor analytics is the foundation of every defensible location strategy.

From location strategy through real estate execution, our team integrates with CBRE's broader Consulting capabilities to deliver solutions that move from insight to execution.

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Optimizing costs is key to realizing your business’s full potential. Learn more about how our labor experts provide end-to-end solutions and executable strategies with CBRE Consulting.

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