4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Mar 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/03/2008   
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HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED IN CULTURE?

The five-yearly Census of Population and Housing provides the finest level of detail available from the ABS about the occupation and industry of each employed person's main job in the week prior to the Census. Using data from the 2006 Census (conducted on 8 August 2006) the NCCRS has produced a publication about people employed in cultural occupations and industries. Occupations and industries are selected as 'cultural' on the basis of inclusion in the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications (ACLC) (cat. no. 4902.0).

People who had unpaid involvement in cultural activities, or who worked part-time in cultural activities but who had another job that they regarded as their main job in the week prior to the Census, would not be recorded in the Census as being in 'cultural' employment.

Of all those employed in Australia in the week prior to the 2006 Census, 284,793 (3.1%) people had their main job in a cultural occupation. Of those employed in a cultural occupation, the largest numbers were Graphic designers (22,338), Ministers of religion (14,784) and Architects (13,283). In 2006, 54.7% (155,785) of all persons employed in cultural occupations as their main job were males and 45.3% (129,008) were females.

The total number of persons employed in a cultural industry in their main job in the week prior to the 2006 Census was 345,950 (3.8% of employed persons) The 2006 Census showed that the largest cultural industries, in terms of people employed, were the Printing industry (37,542) and the Advertising industry (27,653).

These results were published in Employment in Culture, Australia, 2006 (cat. no. 6273.0) which is available to download free of charge.