Sizing Up Pennsylvania’s Creative Workforce

“There’s a growing awareness that in order to demonstrate the relevancy of the creative sector, we need to talk about everybody who’s in there and how broad it really is so that people can see themselves within it, and they can see the impact in their communities and the economy and their daily lives,” says Norah Johnson, the Council’s external affairs director.

In addition to grantmaking, Pennsylvania Creative Industries has been working with other PA state agencies, including the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Education, to help create “an ecosystem within state government services” that supports creative workers and career pathways in the creative industries, Johnson says. That includes promoting apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and career readiness programs that shine a light on creative industry opportunities. “The people that are in the creative workforce are people that many different state agencies are interested in helping,” Johnson says.

“Cultural workers are everywhere within the broader economy of the state.”

Revealing the breadth of Pennsylvania’s creative workforce required some novel methods of research and data analysis. Jamaal Green, assistant professor of city and regional planning at the Weitzman School, studied Public Use Microdata Sample data from the US Census Bureau, compiled by a group of researchers at the University of Minnesota for public research. The data, which includes individual and household-level occupational information from the American Community Survey, was aligned with 65 “creative industries” identified in consultation with the PA Council on the Arts. Green, who teaches courses on economic development and GIS modeling, says he was struck by the level of stratification in the creative workforce and the precarity of so many of its workers. Creative workers have much higher rates of self-employment than other workers, for example, and most self-employed creative workers report earning less than $40,000 a year. Self-employment comes with unique challenges, like navigating an unstable gig economy and paying for health benefits and other needs out of pocket.

“While that type of entrepreneurialism and self-employment is often celebrated, and the work they tend to do is very socially and culturally valuable, it’s not as valued in the broader market,” Green says. “I hope [the report] shows that cultural workers are everywhere within the broader economy of the state. They’re part of the larger social and cultural infrastructure of our state that makes it more vibrant and frankly a better and more human place.”

Researchers, including Dyan Castro, a project manager at PennPraxis, also conducted surveys and interviews with individual creative workers to better understand their priorities and concerns. The surveys and interviews reflected the multifarious nature of creative work, with workers not acting just as artists or designers but also as marketers, accountants, and other business-related roles. The dynamics resonated with Castro, an architectural andlandscape designer, and other members of the research team who also pursue their own creative projects.

“We’re all creative workers,” Castro says. “We all have the understanding that, as creatives, we often have to wear many different hats.”

Fichman, who has a career as a DJ outside of his academic work, says the research has potential implications for policymakers looking to make Pennsylvania a more welcoming place for creative workers. It can also inform the way Weitzman students and designers develop their own creative work.

“It’s so relevant to the careers of our students, graduates and colleagues that the people we’re studying and learning from are from within our own community,” Fichman says. “It’s nice to be able to use our skills, including skills in design, to the benefit of our own community.”