Over the past few years the news has been dominated by a steady stream of reports on persistent difficulties in employment. The Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) recognised the importance of understanding employment within its membership for a number of reasons:

• To better understand the employment situations of our membership, with the aim of improving IES services
• To seek to identify trends within the IES membership and therefore the environmental sciences, by surveying IES members at different time periods
• To identify any gender differences persisting in the field of environmental sciences

In August 2010 the IES invited its Fellows, Full and Associate Members to take part in an employment survey, which questioned them regarding their current employment. This is the first in a series of reports outlining the results of this survey. This report specifically addresses the current employment situation within our membership, looking at unemployment, salaries, representation across the sectors and fields within the environmental sciences. This report outlines first the method of surveying the members, followed by the results relating to members’ current employment situations. From these results conclusions and recommendations are drawn for consideration by the Council and the membership.