Architects’ confidence slumps to lowest level since height of the pandemic

Architects’ confidence about future workloads has slumped to the lowest level since the height of the covid pandemic.

Less than a quarter, 22%, of practices expect workloads to increase over the next three months, according to RIBA’s latest Future Trends survey.

Expectations of future jobs fell by nine index points in June, with 18% of practices expecting workloads to fall.

While it means architects are still positive about future work, the overall balance of +4 is the lowest since January 2021, during the third and final national lockdown and at the height of the daily covid death toll.

It follows a rocky few months for the profession which saw confidence faltering in March and April during a global economic slowdown, before bouncing back in May.

But the factors which caused the spring slump, which include a global economic slowdown caused by rapidly rising inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have persisted and continue to take a toll on practices.

June’s survey found architects expect workloads to fall across all sectors apart from private housing, although this sector also saw its index figure drop seven points to +5.

The commercial sector fell into the negative for the first time since early 2021, with last month’s index falling seven points to -1. The public sector stayed level on -1, while the community sector slid by one point to -8.

Small practices are the least confident, with confidence in firms with less than 10 staff dropping by 13 points last month to an index figure of -2, the first negative balance for this group for 18 months.

Confidence fell across most regions, with London practices returning a balance of -2, the first negative figure since February last year.

Wales and the West saw confidence drop by 10 points to zero, while the South of England fell by 11 points to +4 and the North of England fell by 10 points to +10.

The Midlands and East Anglia was the only region to see an improvement, but remains in negative territory on -4.

Expectations of permanent staffing levels over the next few months also looked to be getting gloomier, falling four points to +2 in June.

But the temporary staffing index rose again this month to a figure of +7, up five points since May, and levels of personal underemployment fell to 8%, the lowest figure ever recorded by the survey.