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Architects are increasingly confident about the strength of their work pipelines according to the RIBA鈥檚 latest Future Trends survey.

The Workload Index barometer rose from +26 in February to +36 in March, with practices in London and the south of England most confident about their medium-term workloads.

Sector by sector, private housing was the most positive area of work for the index鈥檚 four categories, with its confidence rating standing at +34 in March, up from +27 in February. Commercial sector confidence rose from +15 to +19 over the same period.

The RIBA said the combined workload from both sectors was currently rising at a rate of around 8% a year.

Public-sector work was the poorest performer. However confidence rose from +1 to +5 between February and March.

The Future Trends Staffing Index, meanwhile, rose to +16 in March, up from +9 the previous month. Large practices were most confident about their ability to sustain higher staffing levels in the medium term, closely followed by medium-sized practices. Small practices were more circumspect. Overall, just 12% of individuals reported that they had personally been under-employed in the last month.

RIBA director of practice Adrian Dobson said the staffing figures were a 鈥渟triking indication鈥� of greater stability in the employment market for salaried architects.

鈥淥nly 2% of respondents [expect] to have fewer permanent staff in three months鈥� time,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e are also seeing a greater number of practices expecting an increase in temporary staff over the medium term. This highlights that there is more certainty about the new-project pipeline.

鈥淭he private housing sector and commercial sector appear to be the primary drivers for the overall increase in the workload forecast.鈥�

Dobson added that survey responses continued to suggest that uncertainty around future levels of public-sector spending on public projects was being exacerbated by overly complex procurement practices.