Artist Employment Projections through 2018 Drawing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2010-11 Edition, Research Note #103 discusses job prospects for artists and other selected cultural occupations from 2008 to 2018. June 2011 103N PDF
Artist Employment and Unemployment: 1971 - 1980. Figures from the Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census make it possible to view trends in artists employment in light of those observed among all professional and technical workers. January 1982 16R PDF
Artist Employment in 1982 Update using the data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1983. Includes analysis and comparison for 1975, 1980 - 1982 for the occupations of actors, architects, authors, dancers, designers, musicians/composers, painters/sculptors, photographers, radio/TV announcers, teachers of art, drama and music, and other artists not elsewhere classified. January 1983 02N PDF
Artist Employment in 1983 An update for the year 1983 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1984. Also includes information on the revision of the Occupational Classification System, used for the first time by BLS in 1983. March 1984 07N PDF
Artist Employment in 1984 Updating information for the year 1984 from the annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1985. March 1985 11N PDF
Artist Employment in 1985 An update for the year 1985 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1986. March 1986 15N PDF
Artist Employment in 1986 An update for the year 1986 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1987. March 1987 22N PDF
Artist Employment in 1987 An update for the year 1987 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1988. February 1988 29N PDF
Artist Employment in 1988 An update for the year 1988 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1989. This note also discusses the trends in the individual artist occupations with regard to employment and unemployment from 1983 to 1988. April 1989 31N PDF
Artist Employment in 1989 An update for the year 1989 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1990. This note also discusses the trends in the individual artist occupations with regard to employment and unemployment from 1983 to 1989. September 1990 33N PDF
Artist Employment in 1990 An update for the year 1990 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1991. This note also discusses the trends in the individual artist occupations with regard to employment and unemployment from 1983 to 1990. October 1991 35N PDF
Artist Employment in 1991 An update for the year 1991 of annual employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1992. This note also discusses the trends in the individual artist occupations with regard to employment and unemployment from 1985 to 1991. November 1992 37N PDF
Artist Employment in 1992 This is an annual update of employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment in 11 artist occupations described in the note grew by 6% from 1991 to 1992. The unemployment rate in artist occupations also grew from 1991 to 1992 increasing from 5.3% to 5.7%. July 1993 39N PDF
Artist Employment in 1993 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the artist work force declined from 1992 levels after two years of growth. The total artist work force fell from 1,735,000 in 1992 to 1,708,000 in 1993. February 1994 54N PDF
Artist Employment in 1994 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was virtually no growth in artist employment from 1993 to 1994. The number of artists employed in 1994 stood at 1,622,000, only 1,000 more than in 1993. July 1995 57N PDF
Artist Employment in 1995 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was substantial growth in employment in artist occupations in 1995, but the unemployment rate remained high. October 1996 58N PDF
Artist Employment in 1999 Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that more than 2 million people were employed (in primary jobs) as artists in 1999 - a gain of 76,000 workers over the 1998 figure. An additional 298,000 people held secondary jobs in artist occupations. This note also features a section on earnings and projected employment growth for select artist occupations taken from the BLS' Occupational Outlook Handbook.. June 2000 76N PDF
Artist Employment in 2000 Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that more than 2 million people were employed (in primary jobs) as artists in 2000 -- a gain of 10,000 workers over the 1999 figure. An additional 295,000 people held secondary jobs in artist occupations. This note also features a section on earnings and projected employment growth for select artist occupations taken from the BLS' Occupational Outlook Handbook. May 2001 78N PDF
Artist Employment in 2001 Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that more than 2.1 million people were employed (in primary jobs) as artists in 2001 -- a gain of 72,000 workers over the 2000 figure. An additional 315,000 people held secondary jobs in artist occupations. This note also features a section on earnings and projected employment growth for select artist occupations taken from the BLS' Occupational Outlook Handbook. May 2002 80N PDF
Artist Employment in 2003 The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, in 2003, job market conditions weakened for the civilian work force and for most workers in artist occupations. In 2003, 8 million civilian workers were unemployed, representing 5.6 percent of the labor force. The 2003 unemployment rate for artists reached 6.1 percent (128,000 workers), up from 5.5 percent in 2002. October 2004 87N PDF
Artist Employment in 2005 The 2005 labor market improved for the civilian work force and for most workers in artist occupations. Employment in artist jobs grew to 2.1 million workers, while the artist unemployment rate declined from 5.1% in 2004 to 4.4% in 2005. July 2006 90N PDF
Artist Employment in America According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number employed in eleven artist occupation groups grew from 1.6 to 1.8 million from 1995 to 1996. April 1997 60N PDF
Artist Employment in America - 1997 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in artist occupations in 1997 continued to grow faster than in professional occupations as a whole (3.7% versus 2.6%). Total employment in the eleven artist occupations stood at 1.9 million in 1997. May 1998 61N PDF
Artist Employment, 2000-2002 The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that, in 2002, job market conditions weakened for the total civilian work force and for most workers in artist occupations. Unemployment among workers in artist occupations reached 116,000 in 2002, while the unemployment rate for artists hit 5.5 percent, up from 3.5 percent in 2000. October 2003 84N PDF
Artist Labor Force by State, 2000 This note reports the state location of workers in 11 detailed artist occupations. It examines the state concentration of artists as a share of the total civilian labor force, and state patterns in the location of individual artist occupations. May 2004 85N PDF
Artists Compared by Age, Sex, and Earnings in 1970 and 1976. Census data compared with the 1976 Survey of Income and Education to reveal the changes in the size and composition of America's artist population during the 1970s. January 1980 12R PDF
Artists Increase 54% in the 1980s This note reports information from the 1990 Census of Population on artist occupations. The artist labor force in 11 occupations totaled 1,671,278 in 1990 -- a 54% increase from 1980. The note provides information on the size of the individual artist occupation labor forces as reported in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 censuses. August 1993 40N PDF
Artists Increase 81% In The 1970s Analysis of data from the 1980 Census of Population covering increases in the artist labor force for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. April 1983 03N PDF
Artists Real Earnings Decline 37% in the 1970s Median earnings are compared for artists in each of the eleven occupations for 1969 and 1979, the reference years used in the 1970 and 1980 Censuses. The Note contains both actual dollar earnings and constant dollar earnings (adjusted for inflation) and compares median women artist earnings in each of the occupations with those of men in both 1969 and 1979. March 1985 10N PDF
Artists and Art Workers in the United States: Findings from the American Community Survey (2005-2009) and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2010) Note #105 uses multiyear averages from the American Community Survey (2005-2009) to enumerate the nation's artists and to describe their demographic traits, work patterns, and nationwide concentration. The Note also explores links between individual artist occupations and specific industries, and it reports occupational and industry patterns for workers who obtained arts-related degrees in college. Finally, the Note identifies state and metropolitan-level concentrations of employment within arts industries. October 2011 105N PDF
Artists in Metropolitan Areas - 1990 This note provides estimates based on the 1990 Census of Population for artist labor forces in the 30 metropolitan areas with the largest number of artists. The note also provides information on the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of artists in their labor forces. August 1993 42N PDF
Artists in a Year of Recession: Impact on Jobs in 2008 Artists are facing sharp increases in unemployment. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the artist unemployment rate reached 6.0 percent for a total of 129,000 unemployed artists. March 2009 97N PDF
Artists in a Year of Recession: Impact on Jobs in 2008 An addendum to Research Note #97, which examines figures from 2009 as well as 2008 and the impact of the second year of the recession on artists. January 2010 97Nu PDF
Artists in the Large Metropolitan Areas Analysis of data from the 1980 Census of Population for the 60 largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas where 65% of the American artist labor force lived in 1980. September 1983 05N PDF
Artists in the Workforce: 1990-2005. Artists in the Workforce: 1990-2005 is the first nationwide look at artists' demographic and employment patterns in the 21st century. Artists in the Workforce analyzes working artist trends, gathering new statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a comprehensive overview of this workforce segment and its maturation over the past 30 years, along with detailed information on specific artist occupations. June 2008 48R PDF | Executive Summary
Artists in the Workforce: Employment and Earnings, 1970-1990. This report examines employment and earnings trends in artist occupations from 1970 to 1990 using a variety of databases, including both large scale Federal surveys and smaller targeted surveys of artists groups. Alper, Wassall, Jeffri, Greenblatt, Kay, Butcher, and Chartrand. 1996 37R PDF
Changing Proportions of Men and Women in the Artist Occupations 1970 - 1980 A special study by the Bureau of the Census revised estimates of the 1970 Census in the light of the 1980 Occupational Classification System. The results of this special study were used in the preparation of this Note to compare 1970 with 1980 for all artist occupations in terms of numbers of the labor forceand of men and women. Among other things, the adjustments increase the base of women in some of the artist occupations, particularly designers, as a result of in-transfers from occupational groups that were not previously considered in the artist cluster of occupations. March 1985 09N PDF
Dancemakers. This report provides an analysis of the results of a survey of choreographers in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC. The survey obtained data on working conditions, financial status, performance opportunities, and funding for choreographers in each of the cities. November 1993 28R PDF
Employment and Unemployment of Artists: 1970-1975. Census data and Bureau of Labor statistics findings charted to compare employment and unemployment among various kinds of artists and the general labor force. April 1976 01R PDF
Minorities and Women in the Arts: 1970. Census data analyzed to describe the sex and minority makeup of our artist population. January 1979 07R PDF
More Than Once in A Blue Moon: Multiple Job holdings by American Artists An in-depth examination of artists' employment, specifically multiple jobholding or moonlighting, over three decades with comparisons to other professional occupations. The principal data source used is the Current Population Survey, a national Census Bureau survey sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- with highlights from smaller, artist-focused surveys included. 2000 40R PDF
Regional and State Trends for Artists: 1970 - 1990 This note provides state and regional estimates for artist occupations based on the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses of Population. All 50 states are ranked by the size of their artist labor force and the concentration of artists in the total state labor forces in 1990, 1980, and 1970. Regional estimates are also provided for the four major Census Bureau regions -- Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. August 1993 41N PDF
Selected Characteristics of Artists: 1970. Self-employment patterns, migration patterns, and household and family characteristics of artists as revealed in census data. November 1978 10R PDF
Time and Money: Using Federal Data to Measure the Value of Performing Arts Activities Research Note #102 examines large datasets from multiple federal sources to report on three broad topics related: 1) the total number, staff, and budget size of performing arts organizations; 2) U.S. consumer spending on performing arts admissions and other cultural events; and 3) Americans' daily time spent doing arts and cultural activities, including performing arts attendance. Measures of arts and cultural value that extend beyond mining federal databases are also reviewed. April 2011 102N PDF
Trends in Artist Occupations: 1970-1990. A report which discusses information on various characteristics of the artist population and its position in the U.S. labor force. Data are presented in demographic contexts, as well as by artistic discipline. Based on data extracted from the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses of the Population conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1994 29R PDF
Understanding the Employment of Actors. Data from the personnel files of Actors' Equity Association interpreted by researchers help explain theatre employment data systems and the complex conditions governing economic survival of actors. September 1977 03R PDF
Where Artists Live 1980. Analyzes the data gathered in the 1980 U.S. Census and compares them with the figures for 1970 to reveal growth and movement in the artist population. March 1987 19R PDF
Where Artists Live: 1970. Tables, maps, and text summarize census data that show national distribution of the American artist population. October 1977 05R PDF
Women And Minorities In Artist Occupations Analysis of data from the 1980 Census of Population comparing growth by women and minorities in the artist occupations for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. July 1983 04N PDF
Women Artists: 1990 - 2005 Research Note #96 gives a detailed view of women artists, including patterns in the female composition of various artist jobs and in the earnings discrepancies between men and women. December 2008 96N PDF
Unless otherwise noted, these publications can be ordered
through the Office of Research & Analysis. Please include your name and address and the # and title of the publication(s) you are requesting. There
is no charge for mailing.
All titles are available in PDF. Get Acrobat Reader. Please note that some of the PDFs contain links to non-federal websites
Subscribe to periodic emails about NEA research. Please provide your full name and email address in the body of the email.