Architects’ confidence in future workloads is at its highest level for five years – with optimism in private housing setting a new record.

The RIBA Future Trends workload index for May put confidence in the sector at +42, the highest figure since records began in 2009. It found that almost half of practices expected private housing work to grow.

The overall workload index increased by 6 points to a balance figure of +30, indicating a level of optimism about work pipelines not seen in the profession since 2016.

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