Developments in measuring the “creative” workforce

Abstract

This article outlines the contribution the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation has made to the project to improve statistical parameters for defining the “creative” workforce. This is one approach which addresses the imprecision of official statistics in grasping the emergent nature of the creative industries. The article discusses the policy implications of the differences between emphasizing industry and occupation or workforce. It provides qualitative case studies that provide further perspectives on quantitative analysis of the creative workforce. It also outlines debates about the implications for the cultural disciplines of an evidence-based account of creative labour. The “creative trident” methodology is summarized: it is the total of creative occupations within the core creative industries (specialists), plus the creative occupations employed in other industries (embedded) plus the business and support occupations employed in creative industries who are often responsible for managing, accounting for and technically supporting creative activity (support). The method is applied to the arts workforce in Australia. An industry-facing spin-off from the centre's mapping work, Creative Business Benchmarker, is discussed. The implications of this approach to the creative workforce is raised and exemplified in case studies of design and of the health industry.

Keywords:

• creative workforce
• creative industries
• creative trident
• precarious labour
• creative labour
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation

Acknowledgements

Thanks to colleague researchers Peter Higgs, Janet Pagan and Luke Jaaniste, who have worked on the numerous projects surveyed here and have co-authored several of the initial publications arising from them, as well as Harvey May.

Notes

Satellite accounts, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in discussing tourism, “allow an expansion of the national accounts for selected areas of interest while maintaining the concepts and structures of the core accounts. … However, while all the products that are produced and consumed in meeting tourism demand are embedded in the core accounts, they are not readily apparent because ‘tourism’ is not identified as an industry or product in international statistical standards” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008).

The work of Owens et al. (2006) for The Revised 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009) stands out as significantly addressing these issues.

See www.betterbydesign.org.nz. The data on implementation was supplied by Judith Thompson, Director, Better by Design (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise), November 2008.

http://www.ulyssesdesign.com.au/Ulysses_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Analysis by ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation of custom table from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census of Population and Housing, Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06) by INCP Individual Income (weekly) and EMPP Number of Employees, for Person Records, Employed, Owner/managers.