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The arts and culture sectors represented much more than $1 trillion of the US economy in 2021 and accounted for a record portion of country’s all round financial worth, per new data from the government.
On Wednesday, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Bureau of Financial Evaluation (BEA) published their newest evaluation of the economic overall health of 35 industries inside the arts. Extra emphasis was placed on measuring irrespective of whether every sector had returned to pre-pandemic levels of economic performance—or if they had failed to recover.
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According to the report, involving 2020 and 2021, the total financial worth contributed by arts and cultural industries improved by 13.7 %, vastly surpassing the gains of the wider US economy, which grew by just five.9 % more than the similar period. By the finish of 2021, the arts industries created up four.four % of the nation’s overall gross domestic item (GDP).
Of the 35 industries studied, ten—including independent performers and artists and performing arts organizations—recorded considerable development inside 2021, on the other hand none reached 2019-levels of financial output. The NEA also reported that just beneath four.9 million people today have been employed in the arts industries in 2021, representing an boost from 2020, when the pandemic curtailed financial activity in the arts worldwide. That as well was nevertheless beneath the 5.two million employed in 2019.
Performing arts workers and performing art venues, two of the hardest hit regions in 2019, grew in 2021 by 14 % to about 230,000 personnel in total. Once again, a achieve that was nevertheless beneath the 323,000 workers employed by the sector prior to Covid-19.
On the other hand, the report notes that these figures only represent personnel on the bankroll of arts organizations. The decline in employment in some regions could be explained by an improved reliance on freelancers or contract workers throughout this period. Self-employed people historically make up a disproportionate quantity of the arts workforce compared to other industries.
“This annual report from the NEA and BEA underscores that arts and culture are an vital aspect of the American economy. It is similarly apparent, on the other hand, that the sector nevertheless faces tremendous hardships due to COVID-19,” NEA chair Maria Rosario Jackson stated in a statement.
She continued, “Because the information reflect the financial activity of nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike, it is critical to recognize the distinctive contributions each make in making certain a vibrant and expansive arts and cultural sector.”