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Whilst jobs related to the construction industry are amongst the hardest hit by the credit crunch, architecture is suffering the most, with more architects now collecting benefits than any other profession.

Surveyors, engineers, bricklayers, builders and carpenters have also been amongst those occupations suffering from the effect the current global climate has had on properties in the UK. In the last recession, 40 per cent of architects lost their jobs.

Twenty professions were listed as having seeing the biggest increase in benefits claimants and figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) this week showed that between February 2008 and February 2009 the number of architects claiming benefits rose by 760 per cent from 150 to 1,290 - the biggest increase among recorded professions.

Nick Barley, Director of the Lighthouse, the National Centre for Architecture and Design, said that half of Scotland’s architects have lost or face losing their jobs.

The second biggest increase was among architectural technologists and town planners.

But, industry experts have warned that the actual number of people in these professions that are now out of work is far higher than the ONS figures suggest.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said the figures came as no surprise and estimated that the level of unemployment and under-employment among its members to be least 30 per cent higher than official figures.

Construction is historically one of the hardest hit sectors when there is a decline in the economy as house building slows so dramatically.

The legal profession has also been badly affected, coming ninth on the list of hardest hit professions. The number of lawyers losing their jobs over the last year has increased by a shocking 349 per cent.

Brits fear losing their homes

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have shown that there could be as many as 75,000 repossessions this year, so it’s little wonder that a whopping six million Britons are living in fear of losing their homes.

Fears of repossession are now rife and 35 per cent of people with a mortgage say they are worried to some degree that they may lose their property, according to consumer group Which?.
 
Six out of 10 workers said they were concerned that they or their partner may lose their job, with 43 per cent saying they would not be able to keep up with their mortgage if the main earner in their household was out of work.

The research also found that 4.2 million mortgage holders are worried they may go into negative equity in the next year, and seven in ten mortgage holders believe the Government should do more to prevent repossessions.

The current problems in the housing market have also highlighted the risks associated with people borrowing a high proportion of their property's value, with 77 per cent of those questioned saying they thought 100 per cent mortgages should be banned.

Which? Personal Finance Campaigner, Doug Taylor, said, “It’s dreadful that six million people fear losing the roof over their heads.

“With people spending sleepless nights worrying about job losses and repossessions, the industry needs to demonstrate that it wants to win back the trust of the British public by fully embracing government initiatives,” he added.