The 2012 report on the State of the Market for Archaeological Services is now available. The report is the latest in a series commissioned by IfA and FAME from Landward Research in order to monitor, and provide information on, the market for archaeological services in the UK.
The 2012 report shows that the market for commercial, applied archaeology grew modestly in the nine months to April 2012 and, as a result, business confidence is improving. Staff turnover is lower than in previous surveys but salary levels have generally remained static or increased in line with inflation.
Skills continue to be lost in fieldwork although more organisations are addressing this through training. Post excavation analysis skills and artefact and ecofact research continue to be the most likely to be bought in.
Interestingly, when compared with the forthcoming Profiling the Profession 2012/13 report, the survey shows that IfA Registered Organisations and FAME members are more likely to invest in training and to indicate support for the NVQ in Archaeological Practice than those organisations which are neither.
The full report can be accessed here. For information on previous surveys, please visit http://www.archaeologists.net/profession/recession
