creative industries

Rural communities need more creative industries! This story tells us:

The UK’s creative industries have today cemented their position as a powerhouse for growth, with employment in the sector growing at four times the rate of the UK workforce as whole.

The nation’s creative industries now employ almost two million people, up five per cent on the previous year, compared to the wider UK workforce which grew by 1.2 per cent, according to latest official statistics from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

In addition to the overall employment boom for the sector, the creative industries are also leading the way in addressing concerns about the lack of diversity in the workplace. The number of people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds in the creative industries has increased by 15 per cent since 2015, an improvement more than 2 and half times that of the wider UK workforce. In the film and TV sectors alone, BAME representation has jumped by 40 per cent, and in the design and fashion sector numbers up by almost 50 per cent.

Creative Industries Minister Matt Hancock said:

These positive jobs figures show Britain’s creative industries are performing better than ever. Those working in the creative industries are cultural ambassadors for Britain, and play a hugely important role in helping form and shape the way we are viewed both at home and abroad. This strong, sustained growth of the creative industries is fantastic to see, and we are working with industry to make sure this continues.

And whilst there’s still more to do before diversity in the creative industries mirrors that of our society as a whole, I’m encouraged to see that this area is improving at more than twice the rate of the wider workplace.

Whilst London remains a hub for the creative industries, the latest figures also demonstrate impressive growth in different geographical regions around the UK, including:

Growth of Yorkshire & Humber’s film and TV industries has outstripped that of every other part of the UK, increasing by 40 per cent in the last year.