Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.

Artists in the U.S. Workforce 2006-2020

  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were 2.57 million artists in the U.S. workforce in 2020—representing 1.6% of all workers ages 16 and older.
  • In 2020, the unemployment rate for artists was 10.3%, up from 3.7% in 2019. The 2020 unemployment rate for artists remains higher than “Professionals” (4.9%), a category of workers that includes artists and other occupations that generally require college training. The 2020 unemployment rate for the total workforce was 7.8%. 
  • It is important to note that this analysis of the artist labor force is comprised of just 11 occupational categories: architects; art directors, fine artists, and animators; designers; actors; producers, and directors; dancers and choreographers; musicians; announcers; writers and authors; photographers; and other artists and entertainers. While these categories only capture a portion of all artists in the workforce, this methodology has been used by the federal government for over 50 years, which makes it a valuable artist employment trend.
  • Also noteworthy is that this is an analysis solely of artist employment. It does not include many arts-related jobs such as arts administrators, curators, technical staff, and fundraisers.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Research & Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021.

As counted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 2.6 million artists in the U.S. workforce—1.6% of all workers. The unemployment rate for artists grew from 3.7% in 2019 to 10.3% in 2020.

 

Report
Cohen, Randy
Research 1-Page Summaries
2021
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Categories: 
Advocacy
Artists-Resources for
Arts Facts
Creative Workforce
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Yes
March 2021