The FINANCIAL — In 2014, according to Eurostat estimations, 6 million persons were employed in the cultural field in the European Union (EU), or slightly less than 3 % of the total number of persons employed. 6 out of 10 persons in cultural employment had tertiary education.
Of the almost 2 million artists and writers in the EU, nearly half (49%) were self-employed, a share much higher than that reported for total employment (15%).
Today, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, issues a publication on culture statistics. Its seven chapters provide information on the situation and main trends in employment, business, international trade, participation and consumption patterns in the field of culture. This News Release focuses on one domain presented in the publication: cultural employment.
Highest share of cultural employment in Luxembourg, lowest in Romania
At Member State level, the highest shares of cultural employment were observed in Luxembourg (5.2%) and Sweden (4.1%), followed by Finland and the Netherlands (3.9% each) as well as Denmark (3.8%). At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest share was observed in Romania (1.1%), followed by Slovakia (2.0%), Bulgaria (2.1%), Portugal (2.2%), Greece (2.3%) and Cyprus (2.4%).
Share of women in cultural employment generally higher than in total employment
On average in the EU, women represented just below half (47%) of persons employed in the cultural field, just above the share of women in total employment. In most Member States the share of women in cultural employment was higher than the share of women in total employment, in particular in the Baltic Member States Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, followed by Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia and Romania. In seven Member States there was a lower share of women in cultural employment than in total employment: Austria, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Malta, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
More persons with tertiary education in cultural employment than in total employment
In all Member States the share of persons with tertiary education was much higher in cultural employment than in total employment. The percentage point difference was highest in Luxembourg, Spain, Lithuania, Poland and Germany and lowest in Malta, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark. At EU level 60% of persons in cultural employment had tertiary education, a share almost double that in total employment.
1 in 2 artists and writers are self-employed
There were around 2 million artists and writers in the EU, accounting for 30% of total cultural employment. Nearly half of them (49%) were self-employed, a share more than three times higher than among all persons employed (15%) in the EU. A similar pattern could be observed in all Member States for which data are available. The percentage point differences with total employment were highest in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Ireland, where differences of more than 35 pp could be observed, and lowest in Greece, Luxembourg and Poland, where differences of less than 15 pp were registered.
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