The February RIBA Future Trends report shows continued improvement in confidence, with the RIBA Future Workload Index rising to +5, up from +3 in January and -5 in December.
This marks the third consecutive month of increasing optimism, as increasing numbers of practices expect workloads to grow over the coming three months.
Twenty-eight per cent of practices anticipate an increase in workloads, while 23% expect a decline and 49% expect workloads to remain stable. Encouragingly, practices are now reporting workloads six per cent higher than a year ago, the first year-on-year increase since summer 2022.
The outlook for small practices (1–10 staff) has turned positive for the first time in over six months, posting a +3 Workload Index. Medium and large practices remain optimistic, though their outlook has softened slightly, with a combined +12 Workload Index compared with +23 last month.
However, the survey data was collected before the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, which introduces significant economic uncertainty that may affect construction demand and architectural workloads in the coming months.
Adrian Malleson, RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, said: “February’s Future Trends results appear encouraging, with workloads rising and confidence improving following a difficult second half of 2025. For the first time since summer 2022, practices report that workloads are higher than a year ago.
“However, recent geopolitical developments mean the outlook remains uncertain. Rising energy costs and the potential impact on inflation and interest rates could affect construction activity and architects’ workloads in the months ahead.
“Commentary from practices continues to reflect a mixed picture. While some report improving sentiment and stronger pipelines of work, others highlight stalled projects, cautious clients, planning delays, regulatory complexity and intense fee competition.”
The regional outlook has strengthened across most of the UK. London (+17) and the South of England (+12) saw the largest improvements in sentiment, while the North of England (+19) and Midlands and East Anglia (+14) also remain strongly positive. Wales and the West remains optimistic, though its outlook softened slightly to +11.
Sector expectations remain cautious overall. The Community sector (+4) is the only sector with a positive outlook for future work. Private Housing (-1) and Commercial (-2) remain marginally negative, while the Public sector (-4) deteriorated slightly this month.
The staffing outlook has strengthened. The Permanent Staffing Index rose to +4, suggesting practices anticipate increasing recruitment to meet expected workload growth. The Temporary Staffing Index remains positive at +6, indicating continued demand for short-term capacity.
