U.S. office rents climbed in the third quarter as leasing extended a rebound following almost three years of declines, Reis Inc. said.

The average effective rent, or what tenants paid after any landlord concessions, rose to $22.39 per square foot, the highest since 2009's fourth quarter, the New York-based real estate research company said in a report today. It was up from $22.04 a year earlier and $22.25 in the second quarter. Landlords had a net increase in occupied space of 6.19 million square feet (575,000 square meters), the fourth straight gain.

Hiring by companies in industries such as technology and oil services has partly offset sluggish economic growth nationwide and market turmoil sparked by Europe's debt crisis. Technology-heavy cities such as San Francisco and San Jose, California, led the growth in rents, along with New York, Boston, San Antonio and Houston, according to Reis.