Architects increase staff numbers

The number of staff being taken on by practices in the first three months of this year was 6% higher than the same period a year ago.

The figure from RIBA comes as the number of architects on the dole fell to a record low with the number signing on last month falling to 130 – the smallest number since the ONS began including architects in its unemployment statistics back in January 2005.

RIBA’s latest Future Trends Workload Index was unchanged in last month, remaining at +35. Practices in London and the south of England are still the most confident about medium-term workloads.

Private housing and commercial work are the two sectors architects feel most positive about but they are less optimistic about when public sector workloads will recover – the score for public sector work fell to just +3.

RIBA director of practice Adrian Dobson said: “The overall picture is still one in which confidence levels amongst architects about future workloads are high. The rising staffing index indicates a strong feeling that the current market for architectural services is stable or growing for the vast majority of practices.”

But he warned: “There remains widespread reporting of intense fee competition in many sectors, along with tight profit margins.”