June 1, 2010

Letter to the Editor: For jobless architects, market looks more dismal than ever

I read (the May 25 DJC) article “Local architecture market: Less dismal than last year”; with interest. My feeling is that the title is a mis-statement of the data. A more correct headline would be: “Architecture billings continue to decline — though not as fast as last year.”

It is funny to think of the Architecture Billings Index as “improving” when it is below 50, meaning that billings are getting worse. If billings have declined every month since January 2008, we are actually in the worst position we've been in for two and a half years. That is just awful. There may be a few exceptions, but on average it means no new jobs — just fewer layoffs.

We are a small business. Job prospects we could easily snag a few years ago are getting grabbed by big firms with huge portfolios. The big fish are fishing in the small ponds. If some firms such as Weber Thompson are experiencing rising billings, for the index to be below 50, other firms are declining substantially.

It might feel less dismal to business owners who laid off half their staff in the previous year. It's not that they have more work but that they have less mouths to feed. Since things are declining slowly now, instead of facing laying off several people this month, I may only have to lay off one, or just not have quite enough work for everyone. If you include all the unemployed architects, things look more dismal than ever.

Maggi Johnson

Johnson|Southerland

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Previous columns:

• Letter to the Editor: 'Green' design is nothing new, 04-26-2010
• Letter to the Editor: Cost often overlooked as a benefit of sustainability, 03-01-2010
• Letter to the Editor -- Design review has a cost, 02-02-2010
• Letter to the Editor: Pioneer Square article misses the mark, 12-21-2009
• Opinion: Macy's garage: Making a silk purse into a sow's ear, 11-25-2009
• Letter to the Editor: ‘Misleading impression' about Ashworth Cottages, 11-04-2009
• Letter to the Editor: Water rights issues deserve more research and attention, 07-06-2009
• Letter to the Editor: Map of outfalls is first step in cleanup of Puget Sound, 05-04-2009