by Brianna Crandall — December 3, 2010—Findings from the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Future Trends Survey: October 2010 have revealed that architects are more optimistic about their commercial outlook for the first time since February 2010. This renewed confidence is verified within every key indicator, including staffing levels and predicted workload, and across all sectors.
The number of practices expecting workload levels to decline dropped 6 percent, from 34 percent in September to 28 percent in October, and 22 percent of practices expected workload to increase in October, compared to 20 percent in September, demonstrating a 2 percent rise. Employment prospects for salaried architects also grew more optimistic, with 8 percent of architects expecting an increase in staff in October. Levels of underemployment saw an 8 percent drop.
According to RIBA, all of the sector forecasts this month demonstrated increases, with the commercial sector forecast now standing at -6, up from -10 last month. At -33 the public sector remains the most uncertain sector, with 39 percent of architects expecting public work to decline, yet RIBA notes that despite the on-going uncertainties many public healthcare and educational projects are going ahead.
Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice noted that smaller practices remain much more upbeat about future growth in staffing numbers than medium and large practices, adding, “A number of practices have also reported optimistic signs in the leisure and retail market, and our view is that a sustained increase in activity in the key commercial sectors will be the first indicator of recovery with real momentum.”
For more information, see the RIBA Web site.
