Employment in the Cultural Sector, 2009

Employment in the Cultural Sector is one report in a series produced by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, as part of the Cultural Statistics Programme. The aim of the programme is to improve the range and quality of statistical information about the cultural sector - for the development of cultural policy by both central and local government, for monitoring the sector’s progress and performance, and for future planning.

Download full report as pdf (3.8mb)

Introduction

The programme is based on the New Zealand Framework for Cultural Statistics Te Anga Tatauranga Tikanga-ā-iwi ō Aotearoa 1995, which provides a framework for the systematic collection, analysis and resentation of data related to the cultural sector.

Data on cultural employment first appeared as part of a wide-ranging report on cultural statistics in 19951. For the first time, information on the size, structure and diversity of the sector was available. This report showed that employment in the cultural sector was growing at a significantly faster rate than employment overall. Following subsequent censuses, more detailed stand-alone reports on cultural employment were published, first in 1998 and then in 20052. The current report continues that series with an extensive analysis of 2006 Census data including changes since the
previous report. Each of these reports has shown that employment in the cultural sector has continued to grow at a faster rate than the total workforce.

Paid employment in the cultural sector can be divided into two overlapping categories:

employment in cultural occupations, that is, people who directly create cultural goods or services as defined by the framework, and
those who are employed in cultural industries but aren’t directly engaged in the creation of cultural goods and services, for example, those in supporting
occupations such as accountants, cleaners or administrators.

Information in this report is presented under the nine major categories outlined in the cultural statistics framework. Under these headings, it presents the data according to cultural occupations and cultural industries, covering the number of people employed, their income, qualifications, age, whether they work part-time or full-time, the location of the industries
in which they work, and changes since the last report.

The information on cultural employment produced through the Cultural Statistics Programme has been of considerable use to both the government,
from a policy perspective, and to the cultural sector generally. The various parts of the sector, no doubt, will continue to be interested in the individual activities set out in the report. In addition, it is anticipated this report will increase knowledge and understanding of cultural employment and its contribution to the wider economy.

Download full report as pdf (3.8mb)