Title: Beyond the creative industries: mapping the creative economy in the United Kingdom.

Author(s): Peter Higgs, Stuart Cunningham, Hasan Bakhshi

Organisation(s): National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI)

Categories: Arts, culture and the economy

Objectives: To measure the contribution of the creative industries to economic activity in the UK.

Key Findings: The study found that in 2001, the creative economy accounted for 7.1% of UK employment. UK creative employment grew by 3.2 per cent per annum from 1981 to 2006, compared with 0.8 per cent for the broader UK economy. On average, creative incomes were ca. 37% higher than in the UK economy as a whole in 2006, but since 2001 they have grown at the slower rate. Creative occupations generated over £40 billion in salaries and wages in 2006, while support staff in creative industries earned an extra £16.8 billion. Overall, the creative workforce earned 9.6 per cent of all UK earnings (above average). More creative people work outside the creative industries than inside them.

Methods: Use of a 'creative trident' model to analyse the true number of people employed in creative activities and industries (the creative workforce) and their average incomes. The model uses population census data and data provided by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and focuses on core creative added value, excluding activities in related chains that are not central to the creative process (e.g. distribution, retailing).