UK creative industries now account for 1.8m jobs

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has celebrated the current boom in both employment and exports from the UK’s creative industries.

Encompassing games, music, film, TV and more, there are now 1.8m people employed by the various creative sectors, according to a new report. More than one in 10 of all of those employees are from a BAME – Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic – background, matching levels seen across all other UK industries.

However, while women outnumber men in the sectors of museums and galleries, publishing and performing arts, there is still “a concerning under-representation of women” in IT, software and computer services. Sadly, the games industry is almost certainly included in that.

The number of jobs in the creative industries rose by 5.5 per cent between 2013 and 2014, more than double the rate seen by the national employment level.

Meanwhile, the value of services exported by these industries increased by 34.2 per cent – around £4.5bn – between 2009 and 2013, outperforming the rest of the UK economy by just under 15 per cent.

“These latest figures demonstrate how the UK’s creative industries continue to be one of our great success stories,” said Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale. “It’s a fantastic sector which now accounts for more than 1.8m jobs in the UK, and employment in this area is increasing at twice the rate of the wider economy.

“Our films, music and other artists are celebrated around the world and this Government is determined to ensure our creative industries continue to grow.”

The news follows TIGA’s research that shows UK games industry employment is at an all time high.