The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published the results of the February 2014 Future Trends Survey.
The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index saw another significant increase this month, rising to an all-time high of +41 in February 2014 from +36 in January 2014, with confidence levels about future workloads continuing to rise.
All UK nations and regions returned positive balance figures for future workload forecasts; the highest figures were in London (balance figure +54) and Scotland (balance figure +60).
Similarly, in terms of practice size, small (1 – 10 staff), medium (10 – 50 staff) and large-sized practices(51+ staff) are all reporting very positive balance figures, suggesting that overall workload prospects continue to improve across the board.
The private housing sector workload forecast continues to be the most buoyant, increasing to +40 in February 2014 from +35 in January 2014. The commercial sector workload forecast (balance figure +16) and the public sector workload forecast (balance figure +8) also both saw small rises this month. However, the community sector workload forecast fell back slight to +5 in February 2014 from +10 in January 2014.
The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index increased significantly this month, standing at +13 in February 2014 compared with +6 in January 2014, but the majority of practices (79%) expected their staffing levels to stay the same during the next quarter.
There still appears to be significant spare capacity within the architects’ profession. In February 2014 the percentage of our respondents reporting that they had personally been under-employed in the last month increased by one percentage point to 19%, suggesting that around one fifth of the profession is still working below maximum capacity, and perhaps offering some explanation as to why aggregate staffing levels have not yet increased by any significant extent.
RIBA Director of Practice, Adrian Dobson said: “The current growth is largely being driven by a widespread strengthening of the private housing sector across the UK and a pick-up in commercial projects, particularly in London.
“Anecdotal commentary received continues to paint a picture of a widespread pick-up in the level of enquiries and new commissions, and an increase in the amount of work progressing beyond planning. However, our practices continue to report a very competitive market for their services, particularly for smaller scale projects, and little sign of any reduction in pressure on fee levels.”
