In 2005, in the EU27, cultural employment was estimated at 4.9 million people and accounted for 2.4% of total employment, covering both employment in cultural occupations in the whole economy and any employment in cultural economic activities. The proportion of cultural employment ranged from 1.1% in Romania, 1.4% in Portugal and 1.7% in Poland to 3.8% in the Netherlands, 3.5% in Sweden and 3.3% in Finland.
People working within the cultural field generally have a higher level of education than those employed in the economy as a whole. Nearly half of cultural workers in the EU27 in 2005 had completed the tertiary level of education, i.e. university studies or similar, compared to a quarter of the work force in general. This was true for all the Member States. The highest proportions of cultural workers with tertiary education were found in Estonia (64%) and Belgium (63%), while the lowest were found in Malta (26%) and Portugal (28%).
Cultural employment seems less secure: 16% of cultural workers in the EU27 had temporary jobs compared to 13% for total employment. The shares of temporary jobs in cultural employment were highest in Spain (30%) and Slovenia (27%), while they were lowest in Bulgaria, Ireland and Romania (all 3%).
In the EU27 29% of cultural workers were non-employees i.e. employers or self-employed, compared with 14% in the total work force. In all Member States except Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia the share of non-employees was higher for cultural workers than in the economy as a whole. The highest ratios of non-employees were found in Italy (53%), Greece and the Netherlands (both 35%), while the lowest were found in Lithuania (4%), Estonia and Slovenia (both 7%).
