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/">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/">our request, following ONS https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/michael-keoghan-to-siobhan-tuohy-smith-request-to-suspend-aps-accreditation/">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/">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">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 UK total filled jobs.
• Employment in the included DCMS sectors (excluding tourism) g

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.

Last update: 22 December 2022

Next update: March 2023

Geographic coverage: UK

Headline findings

In the period July 2021 to June 2022, there were approximately 4,332,000 total filled jobs in the DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) - representing 12.9% of all UK filled jobs, up from 12.7% in July 2020 to June 2021 and 12.0% in 2019 (pre-pandemic). This reflects that, for DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism), the number of filled jobs have grown faster than the UK overall since July 2020 to June 2021 (3.2% DCMS vs 1.7% UK) and also compared to pre-pandemic (7.9% DCMS vs 0.1% UK).

In percentage terms, within the included DCMS sectors, the Digital sector has seen the largest employment growth since 2019 (pre-pandemic). Over the same period, of the included DCMS sectors, only the Gambling sector and Sport sector have seen declines in employment. Please note, there is substantial overlap between the DCMS sectors.

Although there is wide variation between sectors in terms of demographic breakdowns, overall the proportion of filled jobs held by women was lower in the DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) (44.1%) than the UK overall (47.9%). DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) have a slightly smaller share of jobs filled by people from ethnic minority groups (excluding white minorities) or by people with disabilities compared to the UK workforce overall.

About this release

The DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates series for employment are National Statistics used to provide an estimate of employment (defined as number of filled jobs) in the DCMS Sectors. This release gives estimates for the period July 2021 to June 2022 and re-weighted estimates for July 2020 to June 2021. 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

Estimates are not available for the Tourism sector for this release. A definition for each sector is available in the accompanying technical document along with details of methods and data limitations.

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.

Pre-release access

The accompanying pre-release access document lists ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.

Contact

Responsible analyst: George Ashford

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

Last update: 29th September 2022

Next update: December 2022

Geographic Coverage: UK

Headline findings

In the period April 2021 to March 2022, there were approximately 4,328,000 total filled jobs in the DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) - representing 12.9% of all UK filled jobs, up from 11.1% in 2011 and 12.0% in 2019 (pre-pandemic). This reflects that, for DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism), the number of filled jobs have grown faster than the UK overall since 2011 (29.1% DCMS vs 11.0% UK) and pre-pandemic (7.8% DCMS vs -0.3% UK).

In percentage terms, within the DCMS sectors, the Digital sector has seen the largest employment growth since 2019 (pre-pandemic). Over the same period, of the DCMS sectors, only the Gambling sector and Sport sector have seen declines in employment. Please note, there is substantial overlap between the DCMS sectors.

Although there is wide variation between sectors in terms of demographic breakdowns, overall the proportion of filled jobs held by women was lower in the DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) (43.7%) than the UK overall (48.0%). DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) have a similar share of jobs filled by people from ethnic minority groups (excluding white minorities) or by people with disabilities compared to the UK workforce overall.

Digital Sector workforce analysis

In parallel to this set of employment estimates, we have published some experimental statistics on factors associated with joining or leaving the Digital sector workforce. This analysis uses data from the ONS longitudinal survey, from 2012 to 2019, to assess changes in employment status over a 12 month period relative to a baseline population. It shows that:

• Those joining the digital sector were less likely to be female, or (since 2016) to have a disability, and more likely to have a degree or live in London or the South East.
• Women, people without a degree level qualification, and (since 2016) people from non-Asian ethnic minority groups were disproportionately likely to leave the digital sector.
• The largest factors affecting entry or exit were having a degree level qualification, gender, and if female, the presence of a young child in the household.

The factors examined did not explain the majority of movements into and out of the digital sector.

About this release

The Economic Estimates are National Statistics used to provide an estimate of employment (number of filled jobs) in the DCMS Sectors. This release gives estimates for the period April 2021 to March 2022 and re-weighted estimates for January 2021 to December 2021. It also includes experimental statistics on factors associated with joining or leaving the Digital sector workforce; and experimental statistics on joining and leaving the DCMS Sectors. 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

A definition for each sector is available in the accompanying technical document along with details of methods and data limitations.

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 over

Headline Findings

In 2020, an estimated 9.3% of all 16-64 year-olds had a main job in the DCMS Sectors (excl. Tourism.) This compares to 8.9% in 2019 (the period January to December 2019).

Looking at individual sectors, 5.0% of all 16-64 year-olds had a main job in the Creative Industries. This is followed by the Digital Sector (4.0%), Civil Society (2.1%), Cultural Sector (1.5%), Sport (1.1%), Telecoms (0.4%), Gambling (0.2%).

In 2020, an estimated 10.7% of all men aged 16-64, and 8.0% of all women aged 16-64, had a main job in the DCMS Sectors (excl. Tourism).

In 2020, an estimated 14.9% of all London residents aged 16-64 had a main job in the DCMS Sectors (excl. Tourism). The equivalent figure for the South East was 11.4% of residents, and for the East of England, 9.4%. By contrast, 6.4% of all Northern Ireland residents aged 16-64 had a main job in the DCMS Sectors (excl. Tourism).

About this release

This estimate is an Experimental Official Statistic used to provide an estimate of the employment contribution of DCMS Sectors to the UK economy.

DCMS normally publishes number of jobs as an estimate of employment. However, this has been postponed pending a re-weighting of the underlying datasets. This employment percentage measure - which looks at the percentage of all 16-64 year-olds with a main job in the DCMS Sectors (excl. Tourism) - are less affected by the re-weighting of the datasets and can therefore continue to be published, https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/may2021">in line with ONS advice as the dataset owners. Consequently, it has been published as an interim measure to meet user needs for timely employment statistics. The geographic coverage is the whole of the United Kingdom.

It is part of the wider set of Economic Estimates, which together estimate the contribution of DCMS Sectors to the UK economy.

Content

The Economic Estimates statistical series covers the contributions of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy:

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

A definition for each sector is available in the accompanying technical document along with details of methods and data limitations.

Release

8 July 2021

Feedback and consultation

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

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.

Pre-release access

The accompanying pre-release access document lists ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.

Contact

Responsible statistician: Rishi Vaidya

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

About

The Economic Estimates in this release are a combination of National, Official, and experimental statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS Sectors to the UK economy.

Content

These statistics cover the economic contribution of the following DCMS sectors to the UK economy:

• Creative Industries
• Cultural Sector
• Digital Sector
• Gambling
• Sport
• Telecoms

Tourism and Civil Society are included where possible.

Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that the Telecoms sector sits wholly within the Digital sector.

The release also includes estimates for the Audio Visual sector and Computer Games sector for some measures.

A definition for each sector is available in the associated methodology note along with details of methods and data limitations.

Released

These statistics were first published on 23 December 2021

Feedback

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

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.

Pre-release access

The accompanying pre-release access document lists ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.

Contact

Responsible statistician: Rachel Moyce.

For any queries or feedback, contact <a href="mailto