I am delighted to introduce the results of the annual State of the Archaeological Market Survey covering the financial year 2021-2. The gathered data are of great interest and use to archaeologists employed in many different types of organisations, and provide valuable statistics for wider application within industrial, governmental and political circles. Without these data the important role that we carry out in safeguarding our heritage, and the value that this work brings to the national economy and society, would be lost to policymakers and decision-makers.

Some key points from this year’s survey are that archaeological practice has contributed £268 million to the economy, with Transport providing the stimulus for 39% of this total, and housing 32%. There has been a slight growth in the numbers employed in archaeology, and the majority of staff saw pay rise above or in line with inflation at around 7.1%. Average charge out rates rose slightly less at 6.3%, but average profit levels at 7% are reassuring as it shows the industry is operating a sustainable model, accumulating funds for investment. Indeed the majority of organisations are upskilling and training staff, and this combined with a tight labour market, makes it essential for organisations to have attractive employment packages to recruit and retain staff. Nonetheless, there is a significant minority of respondents who made a loss during the financial year (17%), or whose profit margin was below 5% (46%), and this suggests a large differential between profitable and non-profitable organisations. As an industry we need to address this disparity, and encourage those returning low profits to amend their charging structures so they can plan effectively for a sustainable future.

Additional topics have also been covered by this survey. The annual Health & Safety audit is reported separately, but questions over the quantity of archive materials being stored at the expense of the responding organisations because there is no facility that will curate them, no museum or store where the archives can be deposited, is very concerning. This issue has been raised by FAME as a major problem since 2012, and we have been actively working with partners to find solutions. The answers provided show each respondent had hundreds of archives, costing them thousands of pounds each year, which it is not their remit or appropriate for them to do. The data should assist Historic England with their campaigning for a national archaeological archive repository to be created. In addition, the data gathered over what relationships exist between commercial practice and university departments of archaeology, should allow greater collaboration and mutual benefit to be developed for the future.

I trust you find this well-presented report of interest and value, and I wish to extend my thanks to the authors and coordinators of the survey for their clarity and tenacity in extracting such worthwhile results from the complex data that have been gathered.

Tim Malim

Chair of FAME

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