DCMS report highlights BAME gains but gender imbalance in industries.

The creative industries in the UK have seen a boom in employment and exports since 2011, according to a new report published by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

The government figures reveal employment within the creative industries is increasing at more than twice the rate of the wider UK economy.

Total employment in the creative economy across the UK has increased by 5% between 2013 and 2014 (2.6 million to 2.8 million jobs) and by 13.7% since 2011.

The number of jobs in the creative industries (including both creative and support jobs), increased by 5.5% between 2013 and 2014 to 1.8 million jobs. This was an increase of 15.8% since 2011.

The value of services exported by the UK creative industries in 2013 was $28.1bn (£17.9bn). Exports of services increased by 3.5% between 2012 and 2013, and by 34.2% between 2009 and 2013.

BAME increase

The figures also reveal a modest but important increase in the number of people identifying as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) employed within the sector.

According to the report, more than one in 10 (11%) of all jobs within the sector are now filled by someone from a BAME background – the same level as across all UK industries.

It also highlights that the number of BAME workers in the creative industries increased by 8% between 2013 and 2014 (34.3% since 2011).

Gender imbalance

However, the report also revealed a significant gap between the percentage of women employed in the creative industries compared to the national average.

Some 36.7% of jobs in the creative industries were filled by women compared to the national average of 47.2% of jobs in the UK as a whole.

The report also pointed to vast socio-economic disparity, with 92 percent of jobs in the creative economy in 2014 done by people in ‘more advantaged socio-economic groups’.

Culture secretary John Whittingdale said of the report: “These latest figures demonstrate how the UK’s creative industries continue to be one of our great success stories.

“It’s a fantastic sector which now accounts for more than 1.8 million jobs in the UK, and employment in this areas is increasing at twice the rate of the wider economy.

“Our films, music and other artists are celebrated around the world and this Government is determined to do what we can to ensure our creative industries continue to grow.”