The RIBA Future
Trends Staffing Index fell five points in July to -3, showing a significant
decrease in the appetite of practices to recruit permanent architectural staff.
This is the first
time that the Staffing Index has fallen into negative territory for almost two
years.
The Workload Index
also returned to +5, dropping from +9 in June 2019.
While practices in
the North of England remained the most positive (+39) and the South, Wales and
the West continued to show greater confidence about future workloads (both up
two points since June), practices in London remain the most downbeat, returning
a figure of -15 from -8. The Midlands and East Anglia also slipped into
negative territory from 0 to -10.
Large practices (51+
staff) again seemed the most confident, while medium-sized practices (11 - 50
staff) returned a workload balance figure of +22 and small practices (1-10
staff) recorded a two-point fall to +3.
While increasing
overall (to +3), the private housing sector forecast varied significantly by
region this month – in London the private housing sector forecast dropped to
-18 whereas in the North of England it rose to +32.
The commercial
sector workload forecast dropped to -2, the fifth time in the past 12 months
that the commercial sector forecast has been negative, and the community sector
returned a balance of -1.
RIBA Head of
Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said: “Commentary from
practices paints a concerning picture - the looming Brexit deadline continues
to cause uncertainty. This month, practices have described the architectural
market as both quiet and challenging.
"Commissions
are coming in less frequently, projects are being put on hold, practices are
much less confident about the number of permanent staff and there are deep
feelings of apprehension and unease about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.”
