I was thrilled to learn that the National Endowment for the Arts just came out with a report indicating that the arts are a lot more important to the economy than people may have thought. Titled Artists in the Workforce, the report counts almost 2 million artists in the US, 1.4% of the labor force, who earn a surprising aggregate of $70 billion annually. Not too bad for an industry often considered marginal.
Now, “artists” refers to more than visual artists, and includes actors, musicians, and writers among others. Nevertheless, as part of the “creative economy,” it is great to see growing recognition of the monetary significance of the arts.
For the report, see http://www.nea.gov/news/news08/ArtistsinWorkforce.html
