In 2021, 7.36 million people were employed in the cultural sector in the EU, representing 3.7% of total employment according to data from Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union.
According to this data, the number of people working in culture in the EU recovered after dipping during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns (7.35 million employees in 2019, 7.14 in 2020).
In Cyprus, the data shows 14,900 people employed in culture in 2021, compared to 14,000 in 2019 and 13,200 in 2020.
In 2021 compared with 2019, the share of people employed in the cultural sector increased in 14 EU Member States (including Cyprus) and fell in the other 13.
The most significant increases were recorded in Latvia, France (13% increase in both) and Portugal (12% increase). Meanwhile, the biggest decreases were recorded in Romania (18% reduction), Malta (11% reduction) and Luxembourg (10% reduction).
Over the two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021, a continuous increase in cultural employment was recorded in Latvia, France, Portugal, Czechia and Lithuania.
Conversely, a progressive decrease in cultural employment was recorded in Estonia, Ireland, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Malta and Romania.
Cyprus was one of the countries where the was a drop in employment in culture between 2019 and 2020 (a reduction of a little over 5%) and an increase between 2020 and 2021 (an increase of a little over 5%).
Eurostat defines employment in culture to include culture-related occupations in the culture sector (e.g. a ballet dancer employed by a ballet company or a journalist working for a daily newspaper), non-cultural occupations in the cultural sector (e.g. an accountant working in a publishing house) and culture-related jobs outside the culture sector (e.g. a designer who works in the motor vehicles industry).
More women than men in cultural sector in Cyprus
Eurostat data also show that since 2011, the share of women in cultural employment has been increasing. Meanwhile in Cyprus, over the years the percentage of men working in culture has been higher, or very close, to that of men.
In 2011 there were 3.63 million men and 3 million women working in the cultural sector in the EU (55% compared with 45%). In 2021, there were 3.76 million men and 3.60 million women (51% compared with 49%), with the lowest gender employment gap ever recorded in the sector.
The picture varied somewhat between countries, with women surpassing the share of men working in the cultural sector in 14 countries (including Cyprus).
The highest shares of women were recorded in Estonia (63%), Lithuania (61%) and Latvia (58%). At the other end of the scale, the shares of women were the lowest in Italy (44%) and Malta (30%).
In Cyprus in 2021 there were 6,600 men and 8,300 women working in the cultural sector (44% compared to 56%).
Source: Cyprus News Agency