Government report finds just 12% of federal offices occupied in D.C.

Federal agencies used only 12% of their headquarters space in the District of Columbia last year, according to a new report that confirms government offices in the nation’s capital have become ghost towns.

The Public Buildings Reform Board, an independent agency with a mandate to dispose of unused properties, said workers sent home by pandemic shutdown policies haven’t come back to the office. Occupancy rates last year were less than a third of what they were in 2019.

The Department of Agriculture, with space for more than 7,400 employees at its headquarters,...