RIBA Future Trends Shows Index Falls, Yet Industry Remains Optimistic
While the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index has been reported to fall considerably at the close of last year, with December’s value sitting at +15, as opposed to the +27 reported in the month previous, optimism is still maintained in the architecture sector. Additionally, the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index also saw a dip down to +9, a short fall from +14, yet even on this front the sector does not seem overly worried.
Despite a drop in the workload index, it has been highlighted that this is nothing to worry too much about, with the drop itself being hinted to as a predicted fall in enquiries due to the time of the year; a period when there is traditionally a drop in interest.
With larger practices showing little concern at present (+67), the majority remains confident as to being able to maintain a healthy workload as well as respective levels of staff. In fact, a mere 5% has predicted a fall in the number of staff held over the next quarter. Even smaller practices also showed a degree of optimism for their future (+16), with only those practices in-between, with staff levels of 11-50 showing a more pessimistic balance figure of -7.
As of the disparity of results, the majority of the UK did report on positive balances in the index, with only a few regions falling into the negative such as Wales and the West, as well as Scotland, reporting figures of -3 and -50 respectively. On the flip-side, figures shown in the South of England show great results, with a balance of +30 reported.
As for the staffing index, again both large and small practices have maintained a positive balance and market outlook, with those sitting in the middle then again showing a degree of concern, though in this respect maintaining a balance neither positive nor negative (zero in total)
