CHARLOTTE (Nov. 24.) – N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle today unveiled the findings of new research which shows that the Creative Industry in North Carolina accounts for nearly 300,000 jobs, just over 5 ½ percent of the state’s workforce, with a market value of $41.4 billion.
The new study, “Creativity Means Business: Economic Contributions of North Carolina’s Creative Industry,” was prepared by the Policy, Research, and Strategic Planning Division of the N.C. Department of Commerce. The analysis follows Creative Economy research commissioned in 2007 by the North Carolina Arts Council.
“People with creative ideas, innovators, and entrepreneurs bring investment and jobs to our communities,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “This report highlights the creative spark in North Carolina, and will be a big help in economic development.”
Other findings in the report include:
- •Overall, North Carolina’s creative economy is 5.86 percent of the state’s total production.
- •The Creative Industry accounts for more than $10 billion dollars in employee compensation annually.
- •Nearly 5 percent of the state’s total wages and benefits comes from the Creative Industry.
“Our creative industry is robust, and this important study underscores its role in North Carolina’s future,” said Carlisle. “Creativity in the workforce stimulates new products and services, and helps make North Carolina the most competitive it can be in the global economy.”
The Creative Industry is comprised of a wide range of occupations, 109 in all for the purposes of the study. The list includes not only painters, potters, and musicians, but architects, designers, writers for new and traditional media, art teachers, software engineers, and the workers in the film industry.
Creativity at Work
The report states that the products and services of more than 100 creative industries related to Arts, Libraries and History contribute significantly to North Carolina’s vitality, and goes on to say:
- •The presence of creative professionals in a given county is the single most important factor associated with the amount that visitors will spend.
- •Counties with higher proportions of workers in arts-related occupations are more likely to retain current residents and attract new ones.
- •The creative workforce provides a competitive edge to North Carolina products and services.
- •Creative workers are found not only in cultural industries but also contribute to the success of other businesses.
- •The over $1 billion historic preservation industry relies on essential occupations such as artisans, skilled trades people, researchers, archaeologists, architects, and designers.
- •Photographers, musicians, writers, actors, dancers, publishers, and producers are some of the occupations included in the arts industry alone; in 2006 they infused more than $3.9 billion into North Carolina’s economy.
- •Librarians, archivists, educators, service professionals, and administrators facilitate the development of the creative economy.
- •The people and companies who produce creative products and use creativity in their work include micro-enterprises, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, so the reported jobs are vastly underestimated.
The creative industry is a network of nearly 50,000 inter-related employers and over 100 national industry classification codes. Unlike newer industries, creative industries for the most part have been sustaining communities for generations. The creation, production, dissemination, inputs and support activities are broad and diverse.
Creative workers are also key to cultural tourism in North Carolina. Their presence is the single most important factor associated with the amount visitors will spend in an area. In North Carolina, previous studies show that cultural travelers spend nearly twice as much person, per day, as general travelers.
Earlier studies have also identified that the presence of creative workers in a community is strongly associated with rising household incomes, and that the creative workforce provides a competitive edge to North Carolina products and services.
“In the coming year, I look forward to working with economic development professionals, small business owners, educators, and partners in and out of state government as we move forward,” Carlisle said. “We will continue to work to position North Carolina to capitalize on creative industries to retain workers and attract new entrepreneurial opportunities.”
For more information, go to www.ncarts.org/creative_economy. The site also has Creative Workforce profiles from across North Carolina.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.
Linda A. Carlisle prepared remarks, “Creativity Means Business” Announcement
Good morning. I am glad to be in the presence of so many people who understand the importance of creativity to our communities, our children, and our economy! I especially want to thank my colleague, Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, for being here. I also want to recognize Rep. Tricia Cotham, Rep Becky Carney, Rep. Ruth Samuelson, and Sen. Charlie Dannelly. Thank you all for taking the time to join us today! And what better place to be than an arts center in a preserved building, named for a North Carolina titan of business.
Thank you all for joining us to announce the new study, “Creativity Means Business. Economic Contributions of North Carolina’s Creative Industry.”
Pulling this report together shows the power of teamwork with the North Carolina Arts Council and the Department of Commerce. I asked they explore ways to provide solid data on the scope of the creative industry. I want to congratulate Mary Regan and her staff at the Arts Council for their hard work on this and all their projects.
I’d like to express my thanks to Secretary Crisco and his department, and especially Stephanie McGarrah.
We all know – arts and culture feed the soul, and the creative industry feeds families all across North Carolina. But, our news today will be a surprise to many… North Carolina’s creative workers account for nearly 300,000 jobs, and make up over 5 and one half percent of the state’s workforce.
Our creative industry is robust. The analysis shows that creative businesses and individuals have a market value of $41.4 billion dollars (that’s billion with a B) to North Carolina’s economy.
Here are some other key figures:
Overall, North Carolina’s creative economy is 5.86 percent of the state’s total production.The industry accounts for more than $10 billion (with a B) dollars in employee compensation annually, which is nearly 5 percent of the state’s total wages and benefits.
If you took the Creative Industry away from North Carolina, not only would you be missing billions of dollars in goods and services, but you would be missing the essence of what makes North Carolina unique and special.
In Charlotte – Think no museums… no Symphony … no Blumenthal … no Harvey Gantt Center… No architects to design or restore those grand building.
Across the state –no arts outreach to schools … no libraries or archives … No music or heritage festivals. I know you have the picture.
Our best tool to sustain a resilient economy is North Carolina’s ability to attract and keep creative people with competitive ideas that stimulate new sources and products. It is a way to move far beyond our traditional industries deeper into the global marketplace.
When I say “creative industry,” you might assume that I am talking about potters, musicians, and painters, like Paul Russo, who is here with us today. While that is certainly true, we counted 109 job classifications, in a wide range of occupations. They are sole proprietors, independent entrepreneurs, and hundreds of thousands of workers who contribute at thousands of companies.
So what exactly am I talking about in these diverse job categories?
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Software and internet publishers.
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The Film industry, with ready pre and post production crews, editors, and lighting technicians, actors, or sound engineers…
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Architects… of schools and green buildings, and airports; like Roy Johnson, who is also Chairman of the North Carolina Transportation Museum Board, here today.
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Designers… for the Web, and for fashion.
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Skilled craftsmen – with wood; with glass; with jewelry.
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Writers for television, radio, and newspapers.
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Advertising entrepreneurs… and lots more.
The Creative Industry literally touches everyone in the state. As I noted earlier, it is almost 300,000 people. Put in perspective in another way, in terms of the number of people employed, this industry compares with the finance and transportation industries.
Just two weeks ago, Gov. Perdue said, and I quote, “To get this state growing again—we’ve got to get this state thinking, imagining and creating again. People with good ideas—innovators and entrepreneurs – bring investment and jobs to our communities.”
She’s right.
I would submit to you that today’s frontier is an economic frontier. Put simply, money follows creative ideas. The presence of creative workers in a community is strongly associated with rising household incomes. What’s more the creative workforce provides the competitive edge in cultural and diverse industries.
So, it’s clear: Creativity means business in North Carolina and it adds exponentially to our quality of life. And, the National Governors Association reports that, next to salary, quality of life is number one when high tech workers make decisions about where to live and work… and play.
Speaking of which, if there’s any state in the union that really knows about cultural tourism, it is North Carolina. We already know that the presence of creative workers is the single most important factor associated with the amount visitors will spend in an area. Savvy cultural travelers stay longer and spend more. And they are easy on the infrastructure.
Indeed, the creative spark runs deep here. It’s why the national publications so often name North Carolina as #1.
These are challenging times for everyone in business. We can’t afford to lose our focus on what has made our state great. This economy will turn around, and the Creative Industry will be a BIG part of that.
Cultural activity helps stem the ‘brain drain’ from rural areas, and fosters regional collaborations as creative enterprises build on indigenous cultural assets.
What are the next steps?
First, in the coming year, I will travel the state to bring together community, business, government, and education leaders. In fact, I have already started! Yesterday I met with Ronnie Bryant and others of the Charlotte Regional Partnership at the NASCAR Plaza. And, last week, I met with the state’s Economic Development Board to talk about the Creative Industry. We want to insure an understanding of the importance of the creative economy, explore how we can capitalize on it, and seek further collaborations.
In addition, working together, we must advance ways schools prepare the leaders of tomorrow for jobs in the creative industries. I have directed our Archives and History Division and Arts Division to prepare new curriculum materials for teachers for the Department of Public Instruction.
I am announcing today that we will partner in a national educator workshop with the Lincoln Center Institute and the Kenan Institute for the Arts, to be held next summer in Winston-Salem. We must expand the opportunities for our children to experience the arts, explore their creativity, and develop their critical thinking skills. An education without the arts fails our children and limits their and our future.
Third, the study “Creativity Means Business” gives everyone vital knowledge that can impact state policy concerning economic development. I will hold a series of regional discussions with philanthropic and business leaders for the broadest dissemination of this data.
My Department is working with the Institute of Emerging Issues at NC State, now planning the 25th annual Forum next February. It is focused on creativity, and ways to make it the foundation for how we live and work in North Carolina.
Jointly with the Institute, and with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, we will carry the dialogue to rural North Carolina next spring.
Fourth, in January, I will announce results of a statewide Cultural Vitality Index. CVIs measure arts spending, consumer spending and arts jobs, and provide a national and regional comparison.
The Arts and Science Council and the Chamber, which conducted the first such study of an economic development region in North Carolina, are using it to build a team ready to maximize its creative infrastructure.
Finally, I want to mention five areas that we are looking to further explore with Commerce.
o Community Infrastructure Development
o Creative Industry Sector Development
o Workforce Skill Development
o Tourism Visitation Data Integration
o Economic Development Data Integration
I want to thank Lynn Minges, Assistant Commerce Secretary for Tourism, Marketing, and Global Branding. She is helping us tell the story of culture, heritage, and the arts to visitors and North Carolina residents alike.
Teamwork brought us here today, and teamwork will take us where we need to go from here.
You know… When you have a team with nearly 300,000 members, your bench is really, really deep.
It is now my honor to introduce Keith Crisco, who exemplifies the kind of creative leadership that we need in our state. He believes in what we are doing at Cultural Resources, and it is our pleasure to help him in any way we can as he works for all of North Carolina’s businesses.