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Dezeen Wire: the latest RIBA Future Trends Survey shows that the workload index for UK architects has seen a significant increase compared to this time last year.

Improvements were reported in the housing, community and public sectors, whereas the commercial sector saw a slight decline.

See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.

Here is the report from the RIBA:

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for May 2012

The upward trend for architects’ workloads, which started at the beginning of the year, continues to grow according to the latest results from the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Future Trends Survey.

The Future Trends Workload Index for architects for May 2012 stands at +13, compared with +2 at the same time last year. Large practices with 51 or more staff are the most optimistic about future workloads, reporting a balance figure of +29. Across the UK, most regions reported encouraging workload forecasts, with the only exceptions being Scotland (0) and Northern Ireland (-14).

Across sectors, housing improved by a single balance point to +16, the commercial sector dropped two points to +4, and the community sector forecast saw a two point rise to -7. The public sector forecast saw a significant advance and now stands at -8, compared to -14 in April 2012.

Speaking about the public sector rise, RIBA Director of Practice, Adrian Dobson said:

“This month’s results may be an indication that public sector workloads are beginning to stabilise now that the initial cuts in public sector capital programmes have filtered through. They may also reflect a growing belief that the Government is going to introduce some new fiscal stimulus, which could include additional expenditure on public sector construction.”

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index for May 2012 remains stable and is virtually unchanged at -1. In May 2012, 20% of respondents to the survey stated that they had personally been under-employed in the last month. This is the best figure recorded since the RIBA Future Survey began in January 2009 and is further evidence that the economic outlook for architects may be gradually improving.

The latest quarterly data series from the survey has also shown how overall student employment has decreased by 40% since 2008, revealing that the recession has impacted disproportionally upon those architects in the early stages of their careers.

Dezeen Wire: The latest RIBA Future Trends Survey shows that the private housing sector is benefiting from all-time low interest rates but overall confidence about future workloads remains low.

A third of architects responding to the survey said they felt under-employed in October, with those in London most optimistic about growth and Scotland and Northern Ireland the least confident.

See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for October 2011

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Future Trends Survey for October 2011 shows little change in confidence about future workloads. Statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to track regularly the two key indices of confidence within the profession: future workloads and staffing levels.

There was a slight rise in the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index which for October stood at -7, compared with -10 in September 2011. Practices in London remain the most optimistic about growth in workloads over the next three months, while Northern Ireland and Scotlandremain the least confident about future work. As in previous months, it is the smaller (one to 10 staff) and medium (11 to 50 staff) sized practices that are less confident.

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index also barely changed: down from -7 in September to -8 in October. No practice – of any size – predicts an increase in staffing in the next quarter. Overall staffing levels had on average declined by 7 per cent from October 2010, which tracks a   reduction of 12 per cent in actual work in progress compared with October 2010.

A third of those responding to the survey felt that they had personally been under-employed during October, a slightly higher percentage than in September 2011.

The public, commercial and community sectors forecasts also saw little or no change. On the other hand, the private housing sector forecast recovered quite strongly, moving from – 5 in September 2011 to +5 in October 2011.

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice, said:

“Not unexpectedly, practices continue to describe a challenging and unpredictable state of play, with increased competition for falling levels of public sector work and continuing resistance by banks to lend for development projects. Faced with this uncertain outlook, they are reluctant to recruit new staff.

“But on a more positive note, the bespoke housing sector remains strong, buoyed by all-time low interest rates, and more specialised areas within healthcare and conservation also continue to perform well.”

Dezeen Wire: the number of architectural practices expecting more work in the month from July to August saw a drop from 27% to 25% according to the latest Future Trends Survey published by the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for August 2011

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published the latest results of the monthly Future Trends Survey for August 2011.

The number of practices expecting more work in July saw a drop from 27% in July to 25% in August, whilst those expecting a drop in workload rose to 23%.

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index remains unchanged at -3 in August 2011, with 9% of practices expecting staff levels to drop (compared to 12% in July) and 6% expecting an increase (compared to 9% in July). 22% of architects reported that they have personally been under-employed in August 2011, a 5% drop from 27% in July 2011.

The sector forecasts remain virtually unchanged this month: the private housing sector saw a 3% rise in the number of practices expecting work levels to grow (25% in August, compared to 22% in July). Practices expecting workload to remain constant in this sector fell from 61% in July to 57% in July. The commercial sector forecast saw little overall change, falling marginally to -2 in August 2011 from -1 in July 2011. The number of practices expecting workload to increase grew from 15% in July to 16% in August; there was no change in the number of practices predicting less commercial work this month, which remained constant at 17%. The outlook for the public sector workload remains the most pessimistic, with no further change to the balance figure of -23. In August, 29% of practices expected a fall in workload, compared to 30% in July; only 5% expected an increase in workload, compared to 6% in July.

The statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to regularly report on two key confidence tracking indices relating to future workloads and staffing levels. For August 2011, the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index is +2 (compared to +5 in July), and the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index again remains unchanged at -3 in August.

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice said:

“Although the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index for August 2011 just remains in positive territory at +2, this represents a fall from +5 in July 2011 and indicates an overall drop in confidence levels this month about future workloads for the UK architects’ profession.

“The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index is unchanged for the second consecutive month at -3 in August 2011, reinforcing anecdotal evidence of little activity in the employment market for salaried architects.  When asked about how the number of temporary staff employed will change over the next three months our practices where slightly more positive (balance figure +1). 22% of our respondents reported that they have personally been under-employed in August 2011, representing a significant improvement from the July figure of 27%.

“Practices based in London (balance figure +9) remain more optimistic about growth in workloads over the next quarter than those in the rest of the UK. Practices in Scotland (balance figure -13) and Northern Ireland (balance figure -25) are least confident about future levels of work.”

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Dezeen Wire: almost a quarter of architects remain underemployed according to the the latest Future Trends Survey released by the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

More RIBA Future Trends Surveys »

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for April 2011

The latest figures from the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) monthly Future Trends Survey reveal how almost a quarter of architects remain underemployed, and 23% expect their workload to fall.

This month’s results highlight how more practices expected their workload to decrease, rising 4% from 19% in March to 23% in April. Practices of all sizes throughout the UK seem to remain in general very cautious about increasing their permanent staffing levels; the percentage of practices predicting a drop in staff levels rose from 12% in March to 16% in April, and those expecting staff levels to rise fell to 7% (8% in March). There has been no change in levels of underemployment; 26% of architects state that they are personally underemployed.

Both the private housing sector forecast (balance figure +9) and the commercial sector forecast (balance figure +1) remain in positive territory, but both have fallen back slightly this month in comparison with their levels in March 2011. The number of practices expecting a rise in private sector housing workload rose by 3% from 24% in March to 27% in April; the number of practices expecting less work grew from 13% in March to 18% in April. In the commercial sector, 18% of practices expected more work compared to 21% in March, whilst the number expecting a drop in workload fell by 1% to 17% (18% in March).

The public sector forecast (balance figure -22) continues to predict a declining workload; 31% of practices expected workload to drop compared to 26% in March, whilst 9% of practices expected a rise in public sector work in April, compared to 8% in March.

The statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to regularly report on two key confidence tracking indices relating to future workloads and staffing levels. For April 2011, the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index remains at +8, and the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index is -9 (compared to -4 in March 2011).

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice said:

‘For the second consecutive month there has been no change in the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index, which remains at +8 in April 2011. It is of concern that the positive growth trend in this Index seen since December 2010 now appears to be somewhat running out of steam, with an increasing sense of uncertainty as to the future direction of travel for practice workloads. Practices in London (balance figure +18) and the South of England (balance figure +42) continue to be significantly more confident about their work prospects than those in the rest of the United Kingdom.

‘The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index for April 2011 is -9, falling from -4 in March 2011. Practices of all sizes throughout the UK seem to remain in general very cautious about increasing their permanent staffing levels. However, there is now some indication of greater confidence about taking on more temporary staff; when asked about hiring intentions for temporary staff our practices returned a balance figure of +7.

‘Anecdotal evidence received this month focuses on a number of familiar issues, including delays and uncertainties in the planning system, intense fee competition and a general consensus that the situation remains very unpredictable which affects confidence amongst both architects and their clients. Many respondents have noted the importance of practice reputation, whether based on their local profile or areas of sector expertise, as being of great importance in maintaining workloads.’

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