CEBR found the sector has lost an estimated £3.3bn of its GVA due to Covid-19. The hardest hit subsectors are music, performing and visual arts, which together have lost £2.2bn, equivalent to a fall of 26% if performance had continued in the pre-pandemic trajectory.
Two other pieces of research from CEBR found that arts and culture is worth £700m to the South West economy and £1.9bn in the North.
The role of second jobs in the creative economy
In a blog, the Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) summarises research findings on second jobs and portfolio working in the creative economy. Around 4% of people with a main creative job are said to have a second job of some sort. While this proportion is similar to the proportion of people with more than one job in the whole workforce, the figure doubles when looking specifically at people with a main job in artistic, literary and media occupations. These “core cultural occupations” are among the occupations that have been hit the hardest during the lockdown. Only a minority of people with second jobs have a portfolio of creative jobs, with less than a third (30%) of creative workers’ second jobs being creative work. For the most part, second jobs are related to non-professional types of occupation instead (60%). This suggests, at least for core cultural workers, having a second job is almost an economic necessity.
Contribute to research into the future of freelancers in London
The Centre for London is launching a study to understand how London can best support its self-employed workers and entrepreneurs to develop stable, rewarding and fulfilling careers.
Coding and counting craft
For those interested in the coding of craft to represent it accurately in the economy, the Office for National Statistics has published a draft of the SOC 2020 extended framework. The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a coding framework used to classify occupations, enabling comparisons of occupations across different datasets. After some SOC users (including the Crafts Council) highlighted that the structure is not detailed enough for our needs, ONS launched a project to develop a more detailed version of the classification: The SOC Extension Project (SOC EXT). Building on this, we continue conversations with ONS to seek publication of an aggregated figure for craft occupations. We will keep you posted!
Brexit
The Creative Industries Federation (we’re members) has again called for a no-deal Brexit to be avoided in a joint press statement with other trade associations. DCMS has issued updated guidance for the EU transition period and after January 2021.