The latest Archaeological Market Survey report, produced by Landward Research on behalf of Historic England, the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers (FAME) and the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is now available. Providing a unique analysis of the archaeological sector as part of the overall UK economy, the report is based on survey responses from FAME members and CIfA Registered Organisations.
Key Findings:
- The number of employees in the commercial archaeology sector grew by 8.7% in 2016-17, but levels of financial turnover decreased (-20%) and profit levels were unchanged
- This situation is characterised by a lack of sectoral confidence caused by market uncertainty, and reduced productivity and a lack of capital investment owing to weak productivity growth across the construction sector
- The sector exhibits low confidence in planning policy frameworks and does not consider that local planning authorities are being provided with sufficient professional advice
- There has been another growth in permanent contacts, continuing a trend that started in 2014-15
- Business confidence is still relatively high (but has continued to show negative effects from uncertainty following the EU referendum)
- 15% of the commercial archaeological workforce is drawn from non-UK EU countries, with 2% made up of nationals from other non-EU nations, this represents a large increase on the previous figure of 3% non-UK EU collected in 2012-13
- Employers are continuing to invest in skills training for their staff with desk-based or environmental assessments replacing fieldwork skills as those most commonly reported as being lost
- Numbers of archaeological staff providing expert advice to local planning authorities are still falling and this remains a serious concern for the sector
