The latest Future Trends Survey from RIBA is warning that architects are expecting to find it harder to win work in the future.

The survey covers June and was conducted before the government announced it was scrapping the BSF schools programme which RIBA has predicted could see at least 1,000 architects lose their jobs.

A quarter of firms asked now expect work to decrease – up from the 22% recorded in May – over the next three months.

The number of practices expecting public sector work to fall over the same period shot up by half with 38% of firms expecting less work.

And the number of firms expecting commercial sector work – which the government hopes will increase to take up the slack caused by the public spending cuts – to tail off rose by nearly half again with 19% now predicting less work here in the future.

Private housing is the one predicted bright spot with 26% of firms expecting more work compared to the 22% in May.

Adrian Dobson, RIBA director of practice, admitted: “It is disquieting that confidence about growth in the commercial sector appears to be losing some momentum.

“If this trend were to continue it would raise serious concerns about the capacity for commercial sector growth to make up for reductions in the public sector building programme.”

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