EMPLOYMENT IN CULTURE
The five-yearly Census of Population and Housing provides the finest level of detail available from the ABS about the occupation and industry of each employed person's main job in the week prior to the Census. Using data from the 2001 Census (conducted on 7 August 2001) the NCCRS has produced a publication about people employed in cultural occupations and industries. People who had unpaid involvement in cultural activities, or who worked part-time in cultural activities but who had another job that they regarded as their main job in the week prior to the census, would not be recorded in the census as being in 'cultural' employment.
Of all those employed in Australia in the week prior to the 2001 Census, 259,909 (3.1%) people had their main job in a cultural occupation. By comparison, in 1996, 229,330 (3.0%) persons had their main job in a cultural occupation. Of those employed in a cultural occupation, the largest numbers were Printing tradespersons (27,679) and Graphic designers (21,144). In 2001, 56.1% (145,789) of all persons employed in cultural occupations as their main job were males and 43.9% (114,120) were females. In 1996, the percentage of females employed in cultural occupations (42.8%) was slightly lower.
The total number of persons employed in a cultural industry in their main job in the week prior to the 2001 Census was 299,266 (3.6% of employed persons), compared with 268,826 (3.5% of employed persons) in 1996. The 2001 Census showed that the largest cultural industries, in terms of people employed, were the Newspaper, book and stationery retailing industry (38,016 employed persons), the Architectural services industry (26,723 employed persons), the Advertising services industry (25,794 employed persons) and the Newspaper printing or publishing industry (25,737 employed persons).
People can either work in a cultural occupation in a cultural industry; in a cultural occupation but not in a cultural industry; or in a non-cultural occupation but in a cultural industry. In 2001, over half (51.0% or 132,585 persons) the people who were employed in a cultural occupation worked in a non-cultural industry. A librarian employed in a law firm is an example of a cultural occupation within a non-cultural industry. Of the 299,266 persons employed in a cultural industry, 57.5% (171,942) worked in a non-cultural occupation. A cleaner employed in a museum is an example of a non-cultural occupation within a cultural industry.
Some cultural industries are dominated by people employed in cultural occupations, while for others the percentage in cultural occupations is relatively small. Approximately 85.0% (7,941) of those employed in the Creative arts industry and 79.4% (9,102) of those employed in the Libraries industry worked in a cultural occupation. On the other hand, 16.4% of persons working in the Film and video distribution industry and 15.9% of persons working in the Parks and gardens industry were employed in a cultural occupation.
Main features of Employment in Culture, Australia, 2001 (cat. no. 6273.0) are available free of charge on this site.
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