Official Statistics

DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates Productivity 2022 (provisional)

Published 28 March 2024

1. Introduction

Release date: 28 March 2024

Next release: 2024/25

Geographic coverage: United Kingdom

Time coverage: 2022

Responsible analyst: Rachel Moyce

These official statistics in development provide provisional estimates of the productivity of DCMS sectors for 2022, measured by gross value added (GVA) per filled job and by GVA per hour worked. 

This is the first time we have published output per hour, which has the advantage of accounting for different working patterns. We have published output per job once before, as earlier official statistics in development. These estimates should not be directly compared to the previously published ones, as the methodology has since changed and the data used to produce the older estimates has since been substantially revised. While this publication provides a snapshot for 2022, we are exploring publishing a time series in the future to help us to understand how productivity in DCMS sectors has changed in recent years.

Suitable data for 2022 is not currently available for the tourism sector, so provisional 2022 estimates exclude tourism. 

Productivity estimates for civil society are not available, as our definitions for civil society jobs, hours worked and GVA are incompatible. Work is ongoing to develop estimates.

We use current prices to report estimates for 2022.

Official statistics in development

These statistics are labelled as official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are undergoing development and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. These productivity estimates are designed to complement our other economic estimates and to give a deeper understanding of the economic performance of DCMS sectors to the UK economy. They are being published as official statistics in development because:

• they include a new measure of productivity (output per hour) and updated methodology for output per job, the measure used for DCMS 2019 productivity estimates, previously published.
• the methodology is still in development, including exploring the possibility of producing estimates for civil society
• we will be seeking user feedback on the usefulness of the statistics, the suitability of the methodology used and how clearly the statistics are communicated, including explanations about quality. 

We expect to make further methodological improvements and implement changes after seeking user feedback. These changes will be made by the next annual productivity release, expected in 2024/2025. At this point we will make an assessment about whether the statistics still remain in development or if the label can be removed. 

We welcome feedback on these statistics. We particularly welcome views on:

• the methodology and data sources used
• the presentation of these measures and explanations about the quality of the data
• suggestions for how these statistics could be further improved
• how you are using the estimates 

Please contact evidence@dcms.gov.uk by 24th May 2024 with any feedback.

2. Headline Findings

Provisional estimates suggest that productivity in the included DCMS sectors in 2022 is lower than the UK average in terms of both output per hour and output per job. In 2022:

• Output per hour in included DCMS sectors (creative industries, culture, sport and gambling) was £31, compared to £40 for the UK as a whole. This means that for DCMS sectors compared to the UK average, more hours of work are needed to generate the same amount of GVA. 
• Output per job in included DCMS sectors was £56,000, while the UK average was £65,000. This means that each filled job generates less GVA in DCMS sectors than the UK average.

The following information is worth noting:

• The figures above are measured in current prices.
• Estimates for 2022 are provisional and subject to change when the National Accounts are published later in 2024.

3.Sector level analysis

3.1 Overlaps between sectors

Sector overlap

Some industries are found within multiple sectors and are likely to drive trends in the same way for both sectors. Overlaps between sectors will vary depending on what is being estimated, in these calculations that includes GVA as the output and jobs and hours worked as the inputs. More detail is given below for sector overlaps in GVA.

In 2022, for DCMS excluding tourism and civil society:

• 83.9% of the included DCMS Sector GVA is within the creative industries
• 23.2% of the included DCMS Sector GVA is within the cultural sector
• However, 22.5% of DCMS Sector GVA is within both the Creative Industries and the cultural sector. This illustrates that the cultural sector is almost fully contained within the creative industries (but not vice versa) and these overlaps include activities such as performing arts and radio and television broadcasting. 

When calculating the DCMS Sector total, the GVA from industries within the overlap is counted once. Users should be aware that the estimate for ‘All DCMS sectors’ is therefore lower than the sum of the individual sectors.

For more information, Chapter 2 of the technical report visually outlines the overlap between SIC codes in DCMS sectors, but not the value of GVA within these overlaps. 

3.2 Sector findings

In 2022, of all included DCMS sectors, excluding tourism and civil society, the gambling sector had the highest output per hour at £38. The gambling sector is the smallest DCMS sector by GVA, but has a lower number of hours worked than other sectors. The smaller size also means the data is more volatile year to year. The lowest output per hour in the DCMS sectors was the sport sector, at £26.

Output per job was highest in the creative industries at £62,000, also the largest DCMS sector by GVA. The lowest sector output per job was in the sport sector, at £35,000.

In 2022, productivity in each included DCMS sectors was lower than the UK average, in terms of both output per hour and output per job. However, there is wide variation at the subsector level for the output per hour measure. Estimates for DCMS subsectors are only available for the output per hour measure, while we continue to develop the output per job estimates.

3.3 Creative Industries

Creative industries output per hour was £31 in 2022, compared to the UK average of £40. Output per job in the sector in 2022 was £62,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK.

DCMS has grouped the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes defining the creative industries into nine distinct subsectors, grouped by policy themes. We have produced estimates of output per hour by subsector. 

Looking at output per hour for these subsectors:

• The highest output per hour was in the ‘film, TV, video, radio and photography’ subsector at £47 per hour.
• The lowest output per hour was in the ‘museums, galleries and libraries’ subsector at £8. We might expect to see lower productivity in this subsector using these measures, as many of the kinds of outputs we expect to be produced from the labour input are not included in GVA.

3.4 Cultural Sector

Cultural sector output per hour was £35 in 2022, compared to the UK average of £40. Output per job in the sector in 2022 was £52,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK.

DCMS has grouped the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes defining the cultural sector into nine distinct subsectors, grouped by policy themes. We have produced estimates of output per hour by subsector. 

Looking at output per hour for these subsectors:

• The ‘Film, TV and Music’ subsector (the largest cultural subsector in size economically), had the highest output per hour in 2022 at £54.
• The lowest output per hour was in the ‘library and archives’ subsector at £2. We might expect to see lower productivity in this subsector using these measures, as many of the kinds of outputs we expect to be produced from the labour input are not included in GVA.

3.5 Gambling

Gambling sector output per hour was £38 in 2022, compared to the UK average of £40. Output per job in the sector in 2022 was £59,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK.

It should be noted that the gambling sector is small, comprising just one two-digit SIC code (SIC 92). Consequently, estimates are prone to sampling variability from year to year.

3.6 Sport

Sport sector output per hour was £26 in 2022, compared to the UK average of £40. Output per job in the sector in 2022 was £35,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK.

4. Strengths and limitations

Strengths of these estimates

• These estimates have been calculated to follow the ONS methodology as closely as possible, to aid comparability to UK national estimates.
• The output measure used is the GVA published in the DCMS sector annual GVA publication, giving consistency across DCMS Economic Estimates.
• Annual Population Survey data allows us to estimate actual hours worked, rather than usual or contracted hours.

Limitations of these estimates

• Several DCMS sectors’ outputs are not well represented by GVA alone (particularly in the cultural sector, for example, museums and libraries). This is because these sectors’ goods and services are often provided free at the point of consumption. Also, GVA cannot capture wider cultural and societal benefits associated with these sectors (which may also include indirect effects on UK GVA). Hence, these productivity measures cannot fully account for output in these sectors. DCMS’s Cultural and Heritage Capital Programme sets out an ambition for a culture and heritage capital account that goes beyond transactions with market prices.
• The underlying data for these estimates includes the Annual Population Survey estimates of hours worked, and of proportions of jobs in each 4-digit SIC code. While this enables us to estimate actual hours worked and proportions of jobs at a 4-digit SIC level, responses are self-reported, and SIC codes may therefore be less accurate.
• The ONS productivity jobs series uses the Labour Force Survey, which has experienced falling response rates. ONS have therefore paused publication of industry level estimates of output per job. These will resume after they have analysed the impact of Labour Force Survey (LFS) reweighting. Since this publication uses the industry level estimates, the output per job measure is less robust and should be used with caution.
• Output per job estimates are based on ONS productivity jobs which differ from those used for DCMS employment estimates due to differences in the underlying data sources. However, the key messages about employment in DCMS sectors in 2022 are similar in each of these.

5. Further information

The accompanying data tables consist of current price estimates for output per job and output per hour worked in the DCMS sectors and subsectors in 2022.

The DCMS sectors covered in this report are:

• Creative Industries
• Cultural Sector
• Gambling
• Sport

Suitable data for 2022 is not currently available for the tourism sector, so provisional 2022 estimates exclude tourism. The ONS would usually publish a Nowcast table for the latest year in the Tourism Satellite Account (this would have been for 2022 in the most recent 2021 TSA). Given the unusual pattern of tourism in 2021 the Nowcast 2022 table is not available, as it is heavily based on the previous years trends and the trends seen in 2021 were deemed too exceptional.

Productivity estimates for civil society are not available, as our definitions for civil society jobs, hours worked and GVA are incompatible. Work is ongoing to develop estimates.

Following changes announced in February 2023, figures for the digital sector and telecoms are presented separately, as responsibility for these policy areas now sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Methodological information on the sector definitions, data sources, calculations of productivity and limitations of the approach can now be found in the accompanying technical report.

The next update to these statistics will be released in 2024/25 following the publication of the next DCMS sector annual GVA estimates. The GVA figures used will all be revised in the next annual updates.

DCMS has developed a suite of economic estimates to understand the economic impact its sectors have on the UK economy. In combination with other economic indicators, productivity estimates help build a comprehensive picture of the UK economy, and of the DCMS Sectors’ importance within it.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

The responsible statistician for this release is Rachel Moyce. For enquiries on this release, please email evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

For general enquiries contact:

Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
100 Parliament Street,
London,
SW1A 2BQ

For media enquiries contact: 020 7211 2210.

DCMS statisticians can also be followed on X via @DCMSInsight.