About

These Economic Estimates are accredited official statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS sectors to the UK economy, measured by GVA (gross value added). This release includes annual estimates for 2010 to 2022, and provisional annual estimates for 2023.

This year, we have seen substantial revisions to GVA estimates for DCMS sectors to previously published data to 2022. This is due to revisions made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to the underlying data which these estimates are based on. GVA estimates are subject to scheduled revisions as more and higher quality data becomes available, and more information about this is available in the ONS article on https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/uksectoraccounts/articles/gdprevisionsinbluebook2020/2024" class="govuk-link">GDP revisions in Blue Book: 2024. Further information of the impact of these revisions on DCMS sector GVA is available in the technical report above.

This is the full release and report of our Annual GVA publication, updating the tables-only release published on 19 December 2024 that was brought forward following the impact of scheduled ONS revisions in the National Accounts Blue Book 2024 on GVA estimates for DCMS sectors. This release includes new estimates for tourism and DCMS overall, and a report on the latest estimates.

There are limitations when comparing tourism GVA estimates over time. Although the TSA revisions have improved the comparability of data in some cases, there are still limitations when comparing tourism GVA estimates over time. In particular there is a break in the TSA time series in 2022, meaning that estimates from 2022 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years. This is due to changes in methodology to VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) which is a critical data source for estimating domestic tourism expenditure and, therefore, tourism direct GVA in the ONS TSA, the underlying data source for these estimates. The GBTS survey methodology changed in 2020, however full years of data were not collected in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and the TSA for these years uses alternative data sources and new modelling techniques. VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is currently labelled as official statistics in development. Further information is available on https://www.visitbritain.org/research-insights/great-britain-domestic-overnight-trips-archive#gbts-2022-and-2023-archive" class="govuk-link">VisitBritain’s website. As a result, we advise caution when comparing data for tourism and DCMS sectors overall (including tourism) for 2022 and 2023 with earlier years. It is not possible to separate out the impact of changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data and therefore we do not know how much the trends we are seeing are driven by these methodological changes. Further information is available in the report and in the technical report.

Content

DCMS sectors

These statistics cover the contributions of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy;

• civil society
• creative industries
• cultural sector
• gambling
• sport
• tourism

Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.

The release also includes estimates for the audio visual sector and computer games subsector.

We have separately published ad hoc statistics for the art and antiques market. Annual GVA estimates for the art and antiques market have been published here alongside economic estimates on employment and trade.

Headline findings:

Provisional 2023 estimates show that:

• GVA in DCMS sectors was estimated to be £220.3 billion, contributing 9.3% to UK GVA.
• GVA in the DCMS sectors increased by an estimated 0.1% compared to 2022, while the UK as a whole grew by 0.3%.
• The slight growth in DCMS sector GVA from 2022 to 2023 was driven by the tourism sector (+8.5%); there was also growth from 2022 to 2023 in the sport sector (+2.2%) and i

Headline Findings

In the period October 2019 to September 2020, there were 5.5 million jobs in DCMS sectors, accounting for 16.4% of all UK jobs.

The Creative Industries had the most jobs with 2.2 million. This is followed by the Digital Sector (1.7 million) and Civil Society (984,000). The sector with the fewest jobs is Gambling at 73,000.

The provisional estimates suggest that there were just under 1.6 million jobs in the Tourism sector. Tourism employment estimates are calculated using provisional estimates in the latest (2018) Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). This is a different methodology to the other sectors.

Socio-economic background

In parallel to this set of employment estimates, we have published some statistics on socio-economic background, using the Labour Force Survey (LFS). These are available to download as an ad hoc publication.

About

These Economic Estimates are Official Statistics used to provide an estimate of employment (number of filled jobs) in the DCMS Sectors, for the period October 2019 to September 2020. The findings are calculated based on the ONS Annual Population Survey (APS).

Content

These statistics cover the contributions of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy;

• Civil Society
• Creative Industries
• Cultural Sector
• Digital Sector
• Gambling
• Sport
• Telecoms
• Tourism

The UK Statistics Authority

This release is published in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics (2018) produced by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA). The UKSA has the overall objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. It monitors and reports on all official statistics, and promotes good practice in this area.

Contact

Responsible statistician: Edward Wilkinson

For any queries or feedback, please contact evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

About

These economic estimates are used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS sectors to the UK economy, measured by employment (number of filled jobs). These estimates are calculated based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS).

Notice on Accreditation:

The statistics in this series (including this release) will be classed as official statistics in development until further review. On 4 August 2025, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/ed-humpherson-to-sarah-alloway-lasher-suspension-of-official-statistics-accreditation/" class="govuk-link">temporarily suspended the accreditation from this employment series, at https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/sarah-alloway-lasher-to-ed-humpherson-suspension-of-official-statistics-accreditation/" class="govuk-link">our request, following ONS https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/michael-keoghan-to-siobhan-tuohy-smith-request-to-suspend-aps-accreditation/" class="govuk-link">reporting concerns with the quality of estimates for smaller segments of the APS population, which the DCMS Sector Economic Estimates: Employment series depends on.

Due to ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting, the accreditation of ONS statistics based on Annual Population Survey (APS) was https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/michael-keoghan-to-siobhan-tuohy-smith-request-to-suspend-aps-accreditation/" class="govuk-link">temporarily suspended on 9 October 2024. Because of the increased volatility of both Labour Force Survey (LFS) and APS estimates, the ONS advises that estimates produced using these datasets should be treated with additional caution. ONS statistics based on both the APS and LFS will be considered official statistics in development until further review.

Following the ONS reporting concerns regarding the quality of the APS estimates, particularly for smaller segments of the population, we conducted analysis to understand the quality of DCMS employment estimates. Consequently, we have concerns regarding increased volatility due to low APS sample sizes and its impact on the reliability and quality of our estimates. The statistics in this series will be classified as official statistics in development until further review. Previous releases in the series have been classified as accredited official statistics, meaning that they have been independently assessed by the OSR as complying with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Content

DCMS Sectors

These statistics cover the contributions of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy;

• civil society
• creative industries
• cultural sector
• gambling
• sport
• tourism

Tourism estimates are available up to 2023 only due to data availability. We have made some revisions to employment estimates for the tourism sector and DCMS sectors overall for the years 2016 to 2019, following revisions made by the ONS to the underlying https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/datasets/uktourismsatelliteaccounttsatables" class="govuk-link">Tourism Satellite Account data.

The release also includes estimates for the audio visual sector, computer games sector and art and antiques market.

Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions. In particular, several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.

A definition for each sector is available in the tables published alongside this release. Further information on all these sectors is available in the associated technical report along with details of methods and data limitations.

Alongside these calendar year employment estimates, we would usually publish APS earnings estimates to provide detailed demographic information about earnings in DCMS sectors. Due to ongoing challenges with the quality of APS data, we have not published these estimates in this release. We will explore producing these estimates in future as the quality of APS data improves.

Headline findings

Estimates of the number of filled jobs in the included DCMS sectors in 2024 show that:

• There were 4.0 million total filled jobs in the included DCMS sectors in 2024, representing 11.7% of UK total filled jobs. Tourism data is available up to 2023 and provisional estimates show that there were 4.9 million filled jobs in DCMS sectors overall (incl tourism) in 2023, 14.4% of

About

These official statistics in development provide provisional estimates of the productivity of DCMS sectors for 2019 to 2022, and provisionally for 2023, measured by gross value added (GVA) per hour worked.

This is the first time we have published time series data for output per hour, which is the preferred measure of labour productivity and has the advantage of accounting for different working patterns. We have previously published productivity estimates for output per job, however suitable data is not currently available to update this series. We will review this in future, based on both data availability and user needs

These estimates should not be directly compared to the previously published ones, as the methodology has since changed and the data used to produce the older estimates has since been substantially revised.

Content

DCMS sectors

These statistics cover productivity in the following DCMS sectors:

• creative industries
• cultural sector
• gambling
• sport

Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.

A definition for each sector is available in the tables published alongside this release. Further information on all these sectors is available in the associated technical report above along with details of methods and data limitations.

Estimates exclude tourism, due to a lack of suitable data, and civil society, as our definitions for civil society jobs, hours worked and GVA are incompatible. Work is ongoing to explore the feasibility of developing estimates.

Headline findings:

In 2023:

• Output per hour in included DCMS sectors (creative industries, culture, sport and gambling) was £35, compared to £43 for the UK as a whole. This means that for DCMS sectors compared to the UK average, more hours of work are needed to generate the same amount of GVA.
• Between 2022 and 2023, we provisionally estimate that output per hour in included DCMS sectors fell by around 3% compared to a fall for the overall UK economy of around 0.5%.
• Compared to pre-pandemic (2019), included DCMS sector output per hour in 2023 was estimated to be relatively unchanged, compared to around a 3% increase for the UK as a whole.
• DCMS sector productivity estimates vary by sector and subsector.

The following information is worth noting:

• Estimates for 2023 are provisional and subject to change when the National Accounts are published later in 2025.
• GVA is a standard measure of labour output, and has the advantages of comparability and availability of data, but will produce apparently lower values of productivity for parts of DCMS sectors (e.g. museums, libraries) where goods and services are often provided free at the points of consumption and have wider cultural and societal benefits (which may also include indirect effects on UK GVA).
• These estimates use the ONS dataset https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/datasets/outputperhourworkeduk" class="govuk-link">output per hour worked which is classified as official statistics in development because the estimates are based on the Labour Force Survey which has been impacted by falling sample sizes. The estimates also use ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates of hours worked, which has also been impacted by falling sample sizes. As a result, the accreditation of ONS statistics based on the APS was temporarily suspended on 9 October 2024 and these statistics are considered official statistics in development until further review. This means there is greater uncertainty in DCMS sector estimates.

Released

First published on 20 March 2025.

Official statistics in development: Call for Feedback

These statistics are labelled as https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/policies/official-statistics-policies/official-statistics-in-development/" class="govuk-link">official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are undergoing development and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/" class="govuk-link">Code of Practice for Statistics. These productivity estimates are designed to complement our other economic estimates and to give a deeper understanding of the economic performance of DCMS sectors to the UK economy. They are being published as official statistics in deve

About

These Economic Estimates are National Statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS sectors to the UK economy, measured by GVA (gross value added), and separately for the digital sector.

This is the first release of annual estimates for 2021, and provisional annual estimates for 2022.

Content

DCMS sectors

These statistics cover the contributions of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy;

• civil society
• creative industries
• cultural sector
• gambling
• sport
• tourism

Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.

The release also includes estimates for the audio visual sector and computer games subsector.

Headline findings:

In 2022, provisional estimates show that included DCMS sectors (excluding tourism due to data lags) contributed £169.4 billion to the UK economy. This was 7.7% of total UK GVA, compared to 7.2% in 2019.

Digital sector:

These statistics also cover the contributions of the following digital sectors to the UK economy

• digital sector
• telecoms

Users should note that there is overlap between these two sectors’ definitions. Specifically: the telecoms sector sits wholly within the digital sector.

The release also includes estimates for the audio visual sector and computer games subsector.

Headline findings:

In 2022, provisional estimates show that the digital sector contributed £158.3 billion to the UK economy. This was 7.2% of total UK GVA, compared to 7.1% in 2021 (measured in current prices).

A definition for each sector is available in the tables published alongside this release. Further information on all these sectors is available in the associated technical report along with details of methods and data limitations.

Released

First published on 15 February 2024.

Feedback and consultation

DCMS aims to continuously improve the quality of estimates and better meet user needs. Feedback and responses should be sent to DCMS via email at evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

Office for Statistics Regulation

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in June 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/" class="govuk-link">Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled accredited official statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing evidence@dcms.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

The responsible analyst for this release is Rachel Moyce. For further details about the estimates, or to be added to a distribution list for future updates

This page lists ad-hoc statistics released during the period January - March 2021. These are additional analyses not included in any of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s standard publications.

If you would like any further information please contact evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

January 2021 - Employment in DCMS sectors by socio-economic background: July 2020 to September 2020

This analysis provides estimates of employment in DCMS sectors based on socio-economic background, using the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for July 2020 to September 2020. The LFS asks respondents the job of main earner at age 14, and then matches this to a socio-economic group.

Revision note:

25 September 2024: Employment in DCMS sectors by socio-economic background: July to September 2020 data has been revised and re-published here: DCMS Economic Estimates: Employment, April 2023 to March 2024

February 2021 - GVA by industries in DCMS clusters, 2019

This analysis provides the Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2019 for DCMS clusters and for Civil Society. The figures show that in 2019, the DCMS Clusters contributed £291.9 bn to the UK economy, accounting for 14.8% of UK GVA (expressed in current prices). The largest cluster was Digital, which added £116.3 bn in GVA in 2019, and the smallest was Gambling (£8.3 bn).

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March 2021 - Provisional monthly Gross Value Added for DCMS sectors in 2019 and 2020

This analysis provides provisional estimates of Gross Value Added (adjusted for inflation) for DCMS sectors (excluding Civil Society) for every month in 2019 and 2020. These timely estimates should only be used to illustrate general trends, rather than be taken as definitive figures. These figures will not be as accurate as our annual National Statistics release of gross value added for DCMS sectors (which will be published in Winter 2021).

We estimate that the gross value added of DCMS sectors (excluding Civil Society) shrank by 18% in real terms for March to December 2020 (a loss of £41 billion), compared to the same period in 2019. By sector this varied from -5% (Telecoms) to -37% (Tourism). In comparison, the UK economy as a whole shrank by 11%.