Philly's Growing Creative Economy
Publication Date: June 25, 2012
According to new data released by the
City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy (OACCE), 6.5
percent of the city's jobs are part of the creative sector, making it
Philadelphia's fourth-largest industry.
The research brief available here, documents the following facts about Philadelphia’s
creative sector employment:
- 48,900 jobs exist in Philadelphia's
creative sector
- Employment in the sector has grown by
6.3 percent over the past decade
- Those jobs are responsible for $5
billion in direct output and $2.7 billion in direct employee earnings
Previously released data indicates
that Philadelphia’s creative vitality rates 50-70 percent higher than the
national average, using the CVI standard.
“This new brief further analyzes the
contribution of creative sector employment and includes both creative
occupations, defined by the artistic or creative nature of the job, as well as
non-creative jobs in creative businesses,” according to OACCE’s announcement.
“Creative businesses and creative
workers are a vital part of Philadelphia’s creative renaissance and our path to
economic revitalization,” said Mayor Michael Nutter. “We know that our city is
attracting artists and creative entrepreneurs; we want to make a welcoming home
for them here in our business community, in our arts and culture organizations
and in our neighborhoods.”
The research brief was prepared by the Econsult Corporation for the Office of Arts, Culture,
and the Creative Economy under a grant from the William Penn Foundation.
Image courtesy of BalletX