Cultural Human Resources Council releases Report on the Effect of the Recession on Canada's Culture Sector

Traditional culture sector revenue streams such as business advertising, endowments, and municipal funding have been eroded due to the weak economy and the steep decline in stock markets. Cultural industries have felt the pinch. For example, the report highlights the fact that written media and broadcasting which depend heavily on business advertising are expected to see real revenues fall by 6.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.

In terms of earnings, the report estimates that the global recession will reduce average employment earnings of workers in the culture sector by 2.2 per cent in 2009. The report also notes that the number of self-employed workers in creative and artistic production occupations is expected to grow while revenues fall. As a result, real employment earnings for workers in these occupations (including the self-employed and employees) are expected to fall by 3.5 per cent, on average.

The report is sprinkled with current examples of how the global recession is compounding the challenges facing the cultural sector. For example, one of Canada's largest media companies recently laid-off over 500 workers, and filed for creditor protection because of declining advertising revenues and reduced operating profits; and cultural organizations are announcing staff cuts to counter lower sponsorship dollars, shortfalls at the box office, and poor fundraising results.

The report is the first in a series of three reports that the Conference Board is working on for CHRC, the other two being: a Labour Market Information report for the cultural sector (to be released in December 2009); and an identification and analysis of Human Resource issues and trends in the cultural sector (to be released in June 2010).

The report is available on CHRC's website: http://www.culturalhrc.ca/research/default-e.asp

The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) is committed to strengthening the cultural labour force, and strives to be at the centre of vision and forward thinking in the area of cultural human resources development. CHRC brings together representatives of arts disciplines and cultural industries in the cultural sector to address the training and career development needs of employers and cultural workers including artists, technical staff and managers.

This project is funded by the Government of Canada's Sector Council Program.