“We’re in the dumps!!” and: “Freelancing not necessarily gainful!!!”
Oh, for those good old days — just last year wasn’t it? — when analysts trumpeted the economic value of the “creative class … “
Oh, for those good old days — just last year wasn’t it? — when analysts trumpeted the economic value of the “creative class.”
Reports
the Conference Board of Canada, in a document prepared for the Cultural
Human Resources Council: “The culture sector of Canada’s economy will
be hit harder by the global recession than the overall Canadian
economy. Real value-added output, or gross domestic product (GDP), for
the Canadian economy is expected to be 4 per cent lower in 20091 than
it would have been in the absence of the global recession. In
comparison, real value-added output in Canada’s culture sector is
expected to be 4.8 per cent lower in 2009 than it would have been had
there not been a recession.”
I guess we all knew that — but it’s good to have numbers. The report looked at “freelancing” in particular:
“The
higher rate of self-employment in the culture sector is a main reason
why a smaller reduction in overall employment levels for the sector is
expected. In 2006, 26 per cent of those employed in Canada’s culture
sector were self-employed, compared with 12 per cent in the overall
Canadian economy.”
And then it added, with what I hope the writer realizes is wry irony rather than earnest qualification:
“It should be noted, however, that self-employment does not necessarily translate to being gainfully employed.”
Here’s the link to “The Effect of the Global Economic Recession on Canada’s Creative Economy in 2009” (pdf).
Hat tip to Canadian Magazines.
[node:ad]