Pandemic cost creative industries £12 billion in GVA, report reveals

The new report, entitled The UK Creative Industries: unleashing the power and potential of creativity, has demonstrated the creative industries have lost nearly £12 billion in GVA since the start of the pandemic, with job losses expected to reach over 110,000 by the end of the year.

It also shows that freelancers have been hit more than five times as hard as those on payroll, with 95,000 of the job losses projected to be freelance compared
to 18,000 payroll employees.

But the report also reveals that, with the right investment, the sector could recover faster than the UK economy as a whole, growing by over 26% by 2025 and
contributing £132.1 billion to the economy in GVA. This would amount to over £28 billion more than in 2020.

The new data shows that, in addition to the 2.1 million jobs that existed in the Creative Industries prior to the pandemic, a further 1.4 million roles were directly
supported by the sector through its supply chains (those businesses who supply goods or services to the creative sector). This makes a combined total of 3.5 million, or more than 1 in 10 UK jobs. 

Caroline Norbury MBE, CEO of Creative UK Group, said: 'The past decade has seen the creative industries achieve remarkable growth and success with the
sector’s vast power to grow wealth and employment extending throughout local communities across
the whole of the UK.

'With ambitious investment, the creative sector can rebuild faster than the UK economy and make a major contribution to the country’s post-pandemic recovery. We are money makers, job creators, innovators and problem solvers. We can reshape this country’s future for the better, but to realise our ambitions for tomorrow, we must invest in creativity today.

'We are not asking for handouts. We are asking for meaningful, targeted investment in creative ideas, creative industries and creative skills, that can unlock the incredible potential of the creative sector to kickstart our country’s recovery, and that will be repaid many times over.

'It is critical that we seize this opportunity to unlock the UK’s incredible creative potential, and avoid
leaving key parts of our sector – and our country – behind.'

To accompany the report, the Creative UK Group have launched the #WeAreCreative campaign, encouraging creative people and businesses to show their power and potential to MPs and government officials on social media.

The report is available to download from: www.wearecreative.uk