Job Losses in Archaeology

[RedEarth]

It would also be interested to know how the 'selection of archaeological employers' was determined. Was it entirely random, or is there likely to be some bias in the figures? Why not just ask as many employers as possible? There doesn't seem to be any real explanation of how this was determined as far as I can see, but if it was done in anything other than a random or entirely inclusive manner then what does it really tell us?

The sample size is apparently 63 while the totals given indicate that it might represent a third of the 6865 archaeologists said to be employed at the peak in 2007. Does that mean the magic number of 345 is really more like 1000+ job losses since then?!

Again this is not a criticism of the IfA, I'm very impressed with how quickly they put this together (the 'Obama effect' perhaps - being seen to move rapidly to correct problems!), but a bit of additional detail might be useful.

[drpeterwardle]

The sample is all FAME & RAOs a total of 94 organisations of which 2/3 replied ie 69. This represents about 2000 actual employees or half the commercial archaeology work force. As a sample this is as good as it gets.

The number of job losses in the sample is 8.6% of the companies surveyed.

I would calculate the total job lossed slighly differently to the IFA. The total number of people employed in archaeology is ESTIMATED to be 4023 in Aug 2007. If the percentage change is calculated for the sample 72 people or 1.8% a total estimate for the number of people employed in Oct 2008 of 3950. With a 8.9% reduction from Oct 2008 to Jan 2009 this gives a total of 351 people made redundant in the last quarter which is slightly less than the IFA total.

I have not got access to the FAME & RAO list but given that the worst hit are the companies employing 50+ people and I suspect most if not all of these are RAO or Fame members the IFA estimates are an over estimate.

If the total number employed has increased by 20% from 2002 to 2007 this represents an increase of 650 jobs over that period and thus more people are still employed in archaeology that they were in 2002.

I would note that the summer of 2007 was a very high period of demand for archaeologists and there were all sorts of complaints for about the use of inexperienced archaeologists.

Anybody involved in contracts over the last 7 years will know there has been a year on year increase in demand in the construction industry until last year. Now there is a period of adjustment. The issue to my mind is what will the level of demand be once the recession lifts. Will we have a sudden increase in demand due to pent up demand in the housing market or will the increase be more gradual?

Peter Wardle

Peter

[voice of reason]

[quote]Originally posted by RedEarth

It would also be interested to know how the 'selection of archaeological employers' was determined. Was it entirely random, or is there likely to be some bias in the figures? Why not just ask as many employers as possible?

Read the report - it tells you explicitly

Archaeological employers that are either Registered Organisations with the Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) or members of the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers (FAME) were sent a short questionnaire by email on 12 January 2009, asking for responses by 19 January 2009.

[voice of reason]

quote:Originally posted by BAJR Host

And a very useful one too...

My quaetion would be what the snapshot was of.

would it be possible to know

a) How many companies replied
b) How many employees it represented
c) what regions were worst/best

Again, it's in the report

Sample
Questionnaires were sent to 63 IfA Registered Organisations and to the 59 members of FAME. As there is a degree of overlap (with some organisations being both IfA Registered and FAME members), 98 questionnaires were sent in total. As two of these organisations do not employ archaeologists in the UK (and did not reply to the consultation), and two questionnaires went to subsidiary offices of larger organisations, in total 94 organisations were contacted.
Responses
66 completed questionnaires were returned, along with two notifications of non-response from organisations that declined to provide data.
Three of the returned questionnaires came from organisations that identified themselves as not undertaking commercial archaeological practice, and so their returns are excluded from the analysis below
Results: Job Losses
The respondents employed the equivalent of 2,228.3 people at the time of the Archaeology Labour Market Intelligence Profiling the Profession 2007-08 (LMI) survey in August 2007.
On 1st October 2008, they employed 2,156.4 FTE staff, a decline of 3.2% since the LMI survey.
On 1st January 2009, these organisations employed 1,965.2 FTE staff, a reduction of 8.6% over the previous quarter and 11.8% fewer than in August 2007.

[gorilla]

In analysing, mulling and mooting over loads of groovy statistics, maybe we're missing the point... any job loss is a sad thing

[RedEarth]

quote:Originally posted by voice of reason

[quote]Originally posted by RedEarth

It would also be interested to know how the 'selection of archaeological employers' was determined. Was it entirely random, or is there likely to be some bias in the figures? Why not just ask as many employers as possible?

Read the report - it tells you explicitly

Oh aye, so it does. Probably best not to read it at 7.30 in the morning. In my defence it was the statement in the Introduction what threw me!

I'm not sure it covers the matter of whether different regions are being more badly affected, however, which would be interesting to know.

[BAJR Host]

Again... from anecdotal.. Scotland seems to be holding - though there have been job losses.
Of the 5 companies I have talked too... including my own (that was easy) books are filling up... enquirys are same level as last eyar.. in my particular case, I was shocked to find that two HBOS funded projects are still on...

"Gie's a Job.."
Prof. 'Dolly' Parton

[Mike.T.]

Let's all move to Scotland then.


There certainly doesn't seem to be any work in Ireland, England or Wales.

[BAJR Host]

Stay back... stay back....

"Gie's a Job.."
Prof. 'Dolly' Parton

[gorilla]

quote:Stay back... stay back....

"Gie's a Job.."
Prof. 'Dolly' Parton

Actually it is my intention to move to Scotland in a couple of years! Seems better than here anyway (and of course I'd be nearer the source of Ardbeg malt)