Luxembourg Ranks in Top Tier of EU Countries for Cultural Employment

Cultural Employment

A recent study published by STATEC has found that Luxembourg ranks among EU countries with the highest percentages of cultural employment.

The information was presented by STATEC on the occasion of the Assises culturelles being organised by the Ministry of Culture on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 July 2016.

A Eurostat working group has begun work on cultural statistics, defining cultural employment by the gathering of all cultural professions, from writers and designers to actors and musicians, and all cultural activities, including architecture and engineering, library and archive management and photographic activities. There are of course individuals who perform a cultural job within a cultural economic industry, as well as non-cultural occupations within cultural activities, such as receptionists in theatres. These were included.

The statistics were based on a sample survey of the labour force, the only source providing both information on the occupation and economic activity. Unfortunately, the survey was not able to include cross-border workers as it was only able to question the resident population.

In the EU, the percentage of people with cultural employment in the EU ranges from 1% to 5.8%. The Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland and Luxembourg hold the highest percentages, at 3.9%, 4.1%, 4.7% and 5.8%, respectively.

In its Luxembourg context, cultural employment is thought to cover around 8,500 residents, the majority of which are men, aged between 30 and 49 years of age. Cultural jobs mainly involve graduates, there compared to the average there are more freelance workers and fewer individuals with permanent contracts. A cultural employee is far less likely to have a lower level of education, with unskilled workers constituting just 5% of cultural employment.

The share of cultural employment was show to have grown steadily between 2011 and 2014, from 4.7% to 5.8% of the total population in employment, with Luxembourg’s share of cultural employment setting it considerably higher than in other European countries. According to Eurostat, the average for cultural employment in the EU was just 2.9% in 2014.