I] j C -. Artist Employment and Unemployment (971-1980 National Endowment for the Arts Research Division 4 ill Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries http://archive.org/details/artistemployment1982nati Artist Employment and Unemployment 1971-1980 LIBRARY VTIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE National Endowment for the Arts. Washington. DC. * ^ This report is produced by the Publishing Center for Cultural Resources as part of a pilot project supported by the National En- dowment for the Arts demonstrating economy and efficiency in nonprofit publishing. The Publishing Center ' s planning, production, and distribution services are available to all cultural and educational groups and or- ganizations. For further information, write Publishing Center for Cultural Resources, 625 Broadway, New York City 10012 or tele- phone 212/260-2010. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Artist employment and unemployment 1971-1980. (Reports in the National Endowment for the Arts Research Division series ; 16) Supt. of Docs, no.: NF 2.12:16 1. Artists — Employment — United States. I. National Endowment for the Arts. II. Series: Research Division report (National Endowment for the Arts. Research Division) ; 16. NX504.E4 331.12'517'00973 82-600003 ISBN 0-89062-135-7 AACR2 Manufactured in the United States of America. CONTENTS PREFACE / 4 LIST OF TABLES / 5 LIST OF FIGURES / 5 INTRODUCTION / 6 1971-80 HIGHLIGHTS / 7 GROWTH OF THE ARTIST LABOR FORCE / 9 MALE-FEMALE COMPOSITION / 11 UNEMPLOYMENT / 13 OCCUPATIONAL OVERVIEWS / 13 Actors 14 Architects 16 Authors 18 Dancers 20 Designers 22 Musicians and composers 24 Painters and sculptors 26 Photographers 28 Radio-TV announcers 30 Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education 32 APPENDICES / 35 APPENDIX A DETAILED TABLES / 36 APPENDIX B RELIABILITY OF CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) STATISTICS / 40 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) AS A SOURCE OF ARTIST OCCUPATION DATA / 42 REPORTS IN THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS RESEARCH DIVISION SERIES / 43 PREFACE This report examines employment and unem- ployment in ten artist occupations during the decade of the 19 70s as reported in the Current Population Survey. The Current Pop- ulation Survey (CPS) is a nationwide month- ly sample of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on the responses to this survey, employment in over 4 00 detailed occupations, including a number of artist occupations, is reported annually. Since the entire sample is asked to respond to the same set of occupational questions, the CPS provides estimates of employment in artist occupations which are directly comparable to those for all other occupations . It must be noted that because the artist population makes up a small portion of the U.S. population only a small number of ar- tists are included in the CPS sample. This limits the statistical reliability, of course. The national census conducted once every ten years includes a much greater number of artists and therefore the statis- tical reliability is much better for the census years. Analysis of change in the artist labor force and employment based on the 1970 and 1980 census is planned by the Research Division when the 1980 census data become available (approximately 1983) . Meanwhile, the CPS figures tell a great deal about artists in the U.S. labor force if they are examined with an understanding of their limitations. Research Division Report #1, Employment and Unemployment of Artists: 1970-1975 also in- cluded CPS estimates of artist employment and unemployment; and, beginning in Febru- ary 1976, the Division presented annual ar- tist employment figures based on the CPS to the National Council on the Arts. Both Report #1 and the annual employment figures were accompanied by "standard error" esti- mates to indicate data reliability and the same information appears in Appendix B of this report. Wherever possible the CPS da- ta have been compared with relevant data from other sources to confirm or help ex- plain the tendencies that they show. Several persons provided technical assis- tance in the preparation of this report. Among them are Diane Ellis, a consultant to the Research Division, and Robert Bed- narzik and John Stinson of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Research Division National Endowment for the Arts January 1982 LIST OF TABLES 1 Labor force levels in artist occupations by sex 1971 and 1980 /page 8 2 Labor force levels in artist occupations by sex 1971-80 /page 36 3 Labor force, employment, and unemployment in artist occupations 1971-80 /page 38 4 Standard errors and confidence intervals for artist labor force, employment, and unemployment 19 80 /page 41 LIST OF FIGURES I Women as a percentage of labor force in artist occupations 1971 and 1980 /page 10 II Unemployment range in artist occupations 1971-80 /page 12 III Actors: employment trends 1971-80 /page 14 IV Actors: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 15 V Architects: employment trends 1971-80 /page 16 VI Architects: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 17 VII Authors: employment trends 1971-80 /page 18 VIII Authors: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 19 IX Dancers: employment trends 1971-80 /page 20 X Designers: employment trends 1971-80 /page 22 XI Designers: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 23 XII Musicians and composers: employment trends 1971-80 /page 24 XIII Musicians and composers: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 25 XIV Painters and sculptors: employment trends 1971-80 /page 26 XV Painters and sculptors: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 27 XVI Photographers: employment trends 1971-80 /page 28 XVII Photographers: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 29 XVIII Radio-TV announcers: employment trends 1971-80 /page 30 XIX Radio-TV announcers: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 31 XX Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education: employment trends 1971-80 /page 32 XXI Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education: unemployment rate 1971-80 /page 33 INTRODUCTION Changes in the employment and unemployment of artists from 1971 to 1980 is the topic of this report. Like people in other oc- cupations, artists depend on the overall health of the national economy in maintain- ing gainful employment. In times of reces- sion, unemployment in many types of artist occupations increases. The 1973-75 reces- sion caused a downturn in artist employ- ment, but when the decade of the 1970s end- ed employment levels were relatively high in most artist occupations. The term artist as used in this report in- cludes people in the following occupation- al categories as listed in the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population Classified Index of Industries and Occupa - tions: The unemployment rate is the number of art- ists unemployed as a percent of the artist labor force. These data do not include such people with artists' skills who are not in the labor force as retired persons, those not working while in school, those working without pay, and those not seeking work because of personal or job market factors. Unemployment rates for dancers could not be reliably calculated from CPS data because of the small number of persons in this occupation in the sample and are omitted from this report. Actors Architects Authors Dancers Designers Musicians and composers Painters and sculptors Photographers Radio and television announcers Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education Otner artists not elsewhere classified This differs from the broader Bureau of the Census classification of "writers, ar- tists, and entertainers" used in Research Report #1, Employment and Unemployment of Artists, 1970-1975. The latter classifi- cation included such occupations as ath- letes, reporters, editors, and publicity writers, all of which are excluded from consideration in this report. The labor force of artists comprises those people at least sixteen years old who were employed in any of the above artist occupa- tions and those persons previously employed in artist occupations and currently seeking work . Employed artists are those who worked for pay any time during the monthly survey week, including the self-employed. A per- son working at more than one job is count- ed as an artist only if the artistic work is the job at which he or she worked the greatest number of hours. Unemployed artists are those who did not work during the survey week but were avail- able for work and had looked for work with- in the preceding four weeks. 1971-80 HIGHLIGHTS • There are now over a million persons in the artist labor force. Figures for 1980 show that 1,020,000 people identified them- selves as employed or unemployed actors; architects; authors; dancers; designers; musicians/composers ; painters/sculptors ; photographers; radio-TV announcers; teach- ers of art, drama, and music in higher education; and other artists not else- where classified. • The artist labor force grew steadily from 1971 to 1980 and increased by 323,000 persons or 46%. This is a higher rate of increase than the rate for all profession- al and technical workers, which was 40% in the same period. • Authors increased their numbers at a high- er rate than any other artist occupation. They grew from 33,000 to about 71,000. This is an increase of 115%. Radio-TV an- nouncers were the only artists whose num- ber declined. • Painters/sculptors and designers are now the largest artist occupation groups, with nearly 200,000 members each. Although mu- sicians/composers was the second largest artist group in 1971, this occupation dropped to third place by 1980, with 153,000 members reflecting a comparatively modest growth over the decade of 21%. • The artist labor force is now about one- third female and two-thirds male as a re- sult of women entering artist occupations at twice the rate of men during the decade of the 1970s. There are now two artist oc- cupations which have a majority of females: dancers and painters/sculptors. In 1971, this was only the case for dancers. • Unemployment rates for artists were gen- erally lower at the end of the decade than at the beginning. Unemployment was great- est during the year 1975. • Unemployment rates were higher among ar- tists than among all professional and tech- nical workers — the broad labor force group with training levels most comparable to tists. In 1980, artists averaged 4.1% un- employment compared with 2.5% for all pro- fessional and technical workers. • The most chronic artist unemployment G isted among actors, with rates during the decade ranging between 31% and 48%. As many as 10,000 actors were out of work in 1979. Their unemployment rate is about nine times greater than the a e for the other artist occupations. Table 1 Labor force levels in artist occupations by sex 1971 and 1980 1 Occupation Labor force Percentage change 1971-80 1971 1980 All professional and technical workers Male Female 11,416,000 6,933,000 4,483,000 16,008,000 8,869,000 7,137,000 + 40% + 28% + 59% Actors Male Female Architects Male Female Authors Male Female Dancers Male Female Designers Male Female Musicians/composers Male Female Painters/ sculp tors Male Female Photographers Male Female Radio-TV announcers Male Female Teachers (higher ed. ) ** Male Female Other artists Male Female 19,000 11,000 8,000 23,000 14,000 9,000 + 21% + 27% * 70,000 67,000 3,000 92,000 86,000 6,000 + 31% + 28% * 33,000 21,000 12,000 71,000 41,000 31,000 + 115% + 95% + 158% 10,000 1,000 9,000 12,000 2,000 10,000 + 20% * * 106,000 78,000 28,000 198,000 139,000 60,000 + 87% + 78% + 114% 126,000 82,000 45,000 153,000 108,000 44,000 + 21% + 32% - 2% 130,000 82,000 48,000 199,000 97,000 101,000 + 53% + 18% +110% 81,000 67,000 13,000 114,000 90,000 24,000 + 41% + 34% + 85% 28,000 27,000 1,000 19,000 14,000 5,000 - 32% - 48% * 29,000 20,000 9,000 37,000 19,000 18,000 + 28% - 5% +100% 65,000 48,000 16,000 102,000 68,000 34,000 + 57% + 42% +113% All artists Male Female 697,000 504,000 192,000 1,020,000 678,000 342,000 + 46% + 35% + 78% Note: Male plus female labor force may not equal occupation total due to rounding. * Category has labor force under 10,000; data base is too small for estimate. ** Art, drama, and music. GROWTH OF THE ARTIST LABOR FORCE During the 1970s decade the artist labor force in the United States increased by about 323,000 persons. In 19 71 there were 697,000 persons in the occupations of ac- tors; architects; authors; dancers; design- ers; musicians/composers; painters/sculp- tors; photographers; radio-TV announcers; teachers of arts, drama, and music in high- er education; and other artist occupations not elsewhere classified. By 1980, this number increased to about 1,020,000. This is a 46% increase between 1971 and 1980. The growth of the labor force for all pro- fessional and technical workers was 40% in the same period. The number of authors led the 1970s artist labor force increase in percentage terms; it more than doubled, rising from 33,000 in 1971 to 71,000 in 1980. Other artist occupations which increased more than the average were designers and painters/sculp- tors, which grew by 92,000 and 69,000 re- spectively. By 1980, they were also the two largest artist occupations, with about 200,000 workers each. The radio- TV announcer occupation was the only one to decrease in overall labor force size. There were 32% fewer announcers in 1980 than there were in 1971. Table 1 shows the changes in labor force size for all artist occupations between 1971 and 1980. Figure I Women as a percentage of labor force in artist occupations 1971 and 1980 1 All professional and qi y technical workers 4 42 \ 39% j «*«. 4%L ~7%] ) 36%|. 44% Dancers 90 83%P Designers 26%|J__ 30%| Musicians/composers 36 [J 29% P Painters/sculptors 37%l 51% I) Photographers 16%L 21? 3L Radio-TV announcers 26%P Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education 31% | 49% | ( 1 > Percent 1 15 1 30 1 45 i 60 1 I 75 90 10 MALE-FEMALE COMPOSITION The 1970s also brought changes in the male- female composition of the artist labor force. As in most professions, the propor- tion of females increased. In 1971, women accounted for 28% of the artist labor force; by 1980 they represented 34%, making the composition about one-third female and two- thirds male. Women are not as well repre- sented in the artist occupations, however, as they are in the total professional popu- lation, which is now 45% female. The danc- er occupation continues to have the high- est proportion of women (83%) and the ar- chitect occupation continues to have the lowest (7%). Figure I illustrates the change in the percentage of female artists in each artist occupation between 1971 and 1980. The greatest change in male- female composi- tion occurred among painters/sculptors and teachers of art, drama, and music in high- er education. In 1980 the number of female painters/sculptors surpassed the number of men for the first time, having grown pro- portionately from 37% to 51% in 1980. The proportion of women also increased substan- tially among teachers of art, drama, and music, who now include about equal numbers of males and females. The proportion of women declined among com- posers and marginally (not to a statisti- cally significant degree) among dancers and actors. The decrease in the percent- age of women musician/composers is probably a result of economic conditions during the 1970s, when their high unemployment rate coupled with slow growth in the musicians/ composers labor force made it especially difficult for people entering this occupa- tion . Overall, there was a closer balance between the number of males and females in artist occupations in 1980 than in 1971. 11 Figure II Unemployment range in artist occupations 1971-80 Highest| Average Lowest I P 3.2%l All professional and 2.7%p 2.2%f Actors 39.8%P 30.5%P 1 1 35 40 .4 [ A Architects 2.8, J J. 6% 6.0%P Authors 2.3%| ■ l.4% 7.6 Designers 3.6%| ■ l.8% 9.1% J Musicians/composers 6.9%| 3.9%| , '•- ( Painters/sculptors 3.9% P 2. > [J 6.7% Photographers 4.1%P J 1.7% 9.8% Radio-TV announcers 5.9% J P. 2% / Teachers of art. _ . drama, and music 2,>| in higher education • ■»* 1 1 ) 5 'ercent 1 V 1 30 1 1 45 50 12 UNEMPLOYMENT During the 1971-80 decade, artists had high- er rates of unemployment than the total of all professional and technical workers, among whom unemployment averaged 2.7%. Un- employment was particularly severe for ac- tors. Of approximately 23,000 actors re- ported in the 1980 labor force about 8,000 were without jobs, representing an unemploy- ment rate of 35%. No other artist occupa- tion had an unemployment rate approaching this figure, and the average for artists in occupations other than acting in 1980 was 3.4%. Because of wide variations in labor force size and employment levels, it is important to examine each artist occupa- tion separately. In general, however, ar- tist unemployment rates were highest in 1975 and 1976, lowest in the 1972-73 period and again in 1978-79. This corresponds to the recession-recovery cycle for the general economy during the decade. However, unem- ployment rates for artists fluctuated more from year to year than the rates for all professional and technical workers , suggest- ing that employment may be more volatile in artist occupations. The range of artist employment is shown in Figure II. OCCUPATIONAL OVERVIEWS Employment figures for the total artist pop- ulation obscure the many variations among the individual artist occupations. Al- though most of the artist groups experienced growth of labor force in 1971-80 and most had higher than average unemployment during recession, considerable variation existed. Growth and employment levels in some artist occupations, particularly in the performing arts, were more seriously affected by na- tional economic reverses than other artist occupations. The trend for each artist oc- cupation between 1971 and 1980 is present- ed in Figures III-XXIon the following pages . 13 Figure III Actors: employment trends 1971-80 14 The employment situation was bleak for ac- tors throughout the 1970s. At the begin- ning of the decade, nearly half of all ac- tors were out of work. While unemployment dropped to 31% by 1976, it rose again to over 35% by 1979-80. Poor employment prospects probably contributed to the slow growth in the actor labor force over the decade. The actor labor force, which peaked in 1978 at 30,000, declined to about 23,000 by 1980. Figure IV Actors: unemployment rate 1971-80 15 Figure V Architects: employment trends 1971-80 - 80,000 - 70,000 - 60,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 ' 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 - 50,000 - 40,000 - 30,000 - 20,000 - 10,000 16 The architect occupation tends to be sensi- tive to the ups and downs of the general economy. Unemployment peaked at 5.4% at the height of the 1974-75 recession. A sharp decline in the number of architects working or seeking work followed, so that there were fewer persons in the architect labor force in 1977 than in 1971. However, more than 30,000 persons (representing a 50% increase in the labor force) entered or reentered architect occupations between 1977 and 1980, and notwithstanding this growth, at the end of the decade the un- employment rate of 1.7% was one of the lowest for artists. Figure VI Architects: unemployment rate 1971-80 17 Figure VII Authors: employment trends 1971-80 80,000 I- 70,000 - 60,000 - 50,000 - 40,000 - 30,000 - 20,000 - 10,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 ' 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 18 The author labor force grew faster than any other artist occupation during the 1970s — increasing its number by 115%. Although the unemployment rate was relatively high, 6% in 1971, it dropped gradually to less than 2% at the end of the decade. The 1974-75 recession had only moderate effect on work prospects — with unemployment in- creasing to only 3.6% in 1975. This was lower than the recession unemployment rate for most other artist occupations, probably reflecting the high frequency of self-employ- ment among authors. Figure VIII Authors: unemployment rate 1971-80 19 Figure IX Dancers: employment trends 1971-80 15,000 10,000 - 5,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 20 The number of dancers in the labor force fluctuated considerably throughout the decade (reflecting in part the higher degree of error associated with the small number of dancers in the sample) but moved up steadily in the latter half and reached 12,000 by 1980. Unemployment rates are not available through the use of the CPS data because the total number of dancers is so small. Too few dancers are repre- sented in the survey sample to permit de- pendable unemployment estimates. 21 Figure X Designers: employment trends 1971-80 -140,000 120,000 -100,000 - 80,000 - 60,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 40,000 - 20,000 22 Designers had steady labor force gains ev- ery year from 1971 to 1980, increasing their numbers by a substantial 87% over the dec- ade. By 1980 there were about 200, 000 de- signers in the labor force. Unemployment was relatively low during most of the peri- od but, like most other professions, de- signers were affected by the 1974-75 re- cession which caused a tripling of their unemployment rate to 7.6% in 1975. Design- ers' employment, however, bounced back in 1976 and by 1980 only 2.6% of designers were out of work. Figure XI Designers: unemployment rate 1971-80 23 Figure XII Musicians and composers: employment trends 1971-80 160,000 -140,000 Employed + Unemployed = Labor force -120,000 -100,000 - 80,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 - 60,000 - 40,000 - 20,000 24 Employment prospects seemed good for musi- cians and composers in the early 1970s. Despite substantial growth in the labor force, unemployment was less than 4% in 1974. The recession affected this picture dramatically, however, and musicians and composers have never really recovered from its impact. The unemployment rate, which exceeded 9% in 1976, remained a high 6.2% in 1980. The decreased unemployment rate reflected a smaller number of job-seekers rather than growth of those employed. The number of employed musicians and composers, which declined by 11,000 between 1977 and 1980, suggests that many abandoned the field. Figure XIII Musicians and composers : unemployment rate 1971-80 25 Figure XIV Painters and sculptors: employment trends 1971-80 Employed + Unemployed = Labor force 180,000 -160,000 -140,000 -120,000 -100,000 - 80,000 60,000 h- 40,000 1971 ' 1972 ' 1973 1974 ' 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 - 20,000 26 Painters and sculptors are the largest ar- tist occupation group, with about 200,000 members in 1980 reflecting steady labor force gains throughout the decade. Painters and sculptors suffered only moderate em- ployment setbacks from the mid-decade re- cession, possibly because of relatively high self-employment. The number of em- ployed painters and sculptors decreased by 3,000 in 1975 and the rate of unemploy- ment reached 6.5% the following year, but they recovered these losses in 1977 and subsequently grew through the end of the decade. Figure XV Painters and sculptors: unemployment rate 1971-80 27 Figure XVI Photographers: employment trends 1971-80 - 60,000 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 40,000 - 20,000 28 Photographer employment and labor force lev- els fluctuated throughout most of the dec- ade. The photographer labor force dropped between 1971 and 1973, then rose through 1976, dropped in 1977, and then made sub- stantial gains. The 1974-75 recession un- doubtedly played an important role in this fluctuation; unemployment, which peaked at about 6.6% in 1975-76, could have discour- aged prospective entrants into the field. At the end of the 1970s, photographer em- ployment is healthy, with 33,000 more pho- tographers than in 1971 and an unemploy- ment rate of only 2.8%. Figure XVII Photographers: unemployment rate 1971-80 29 Figure XVIII Radio-TV announcers : employment trends 1971-80 -15,000 -10,000 - 5,000 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980* 30 This was the only artist labor force that decreased during the 1970s, with 28,000 members dropping to about 19,000 by 1980 (a net loss of 32%) . There was some fluc- tuation in numbers — loss in the early part of the decade, growth in the middle, and renewed loss from 1976 to 1980. Because many radio-TV announcers apparently aban- doned the field, the unemployment rate for this occupation was low toward the end of the decade — amounting to less than 1% in 1980 in contrast with the 9.8% unemployment rate of 1971. Figure XIX Radio-TV announcers: unemployment rate 1971-80 31 Figure XX Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education : employment trends 1971-80 1978 1979 1980 -10,000 - 5,000 32 The labor force for this occupation group made only a moderate gain of 28% during the 1970s. The labor force grew substantially during the 1971-78 period, numbering as many as 45,000 in 1978, but dropped to a- bout 37,000 between 1978 and 1980, probably as the result of general decline in enroll- ments at colleges and universities. Most of the 8,000 former teachers found work in other occupations or dropped out of the labor force entirely because they fail to figure in teacher unemployment totals. In general, employment was high for this group during the decade, with unemployment peak- ing at slightly more than 5% in 1977 (prob- ably reflecting an oversupply that presaged the declines of 1978-80) and down to 2.5% by 1980. Figure XXI Teachers of art, drama, and music in higher education : unemployment rate 1971-80 •Not plotted because unemployment level below 500 persons. - 8« lOt I — I ~l — I - 1 T — I — — I — 1 9 M 33 APPENDICES APPENDIX A DETAILED TABLES APPENDIX B RELIABILITY OF CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) STATISTICS CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) AS A SOURCE OF ARTIST OCCUPATION DATA 35 APPENDIX A DETAILED TABLES (2 AND 3) Table 2 Labor force levels in artist occupations by sex 1971-80 ■■■■■■■■■■■■ Occupation 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 All professional and technical workers Male Female 11,416,000 6,933,000 4,483,000 11,741,000 7,110,000 4,631,000 12,037,000 7,186,000 4,852,000 12,623,000 7,482,000 5,142,000 13,173,000 7,700,000 5,474,000 13,769,000 7,933,000 5,836,000 Actors Male Female Architects Male Female Authors Male Female Dancers Male Female Designers Male Female Musicians/composers Male Female Painters/sculptors Male Female Photographers Male Female Radio-TV announcers Male Female Teachers (higher ed.)* Male Female Other artists Male Female 19,000 11,000 8,000 18,000 13,000 5,000 16,000 7,000 8,000 19,000 11,000 8,000 20,000 13,000 7,000 23,000 13,000 9,000 70,000 67,000 3,000 68,000 66,000 2,000 74,000 72,000 2,000 73,000 71,000 2,000 74,000 71,000 3,000 64,000 62,000 2,000 33,000 21,000 12,000 31,000 18,000 13,000 39,000 18,000 20,000 47,000 27,000 21,000 47,000 26,000 20,000 49,000 25,000 24,000 10,000 1,000 9,000 6,000 1,000 5,000 10,000 3,000 7,000 7,000 1,000 5,000 8,000 3,000 5,000 7,000 2,000 5,000 106,000 78,000 28,000 113,000 91,000 21,000 125,000 98,000 27,000 132,000 99,000 33,000 135,000 103,000 34,000 147,000 112,000 35,000 126,000 82,000 45,000 130,000 92,000 39,000 129,000 88,000 41,000 146,000 102,000 44,000 151,000 104,000 47,000 165,000 113,000 52,000 130,000 82,000 48,000 137,000 78,000 60,000 141,000 80,000 60,000 154,000 89,000 65,000 155,000 84,000 72,000 164,000 89,000 75,000 81,000 67,000 13,000 80,000 67,000 13,000 76,000 63,000 13,000 79,000 67,000 13,000 81,000 67,000 14,000 93,000 79,000 14,000 28,000 25,000 1,000 24,000 22,000 1,000 19,000 18,000 1,000 21,000 19,000 2,000 24,000 22,000 2,000 28,000 27,000 1,000 29,000 20,000 9,000 30,000 21,000 9,000 34,000 22,000 11,000 35-, 000 21,000 14,000 39,000 22,000 17,000 41,000 25,000 15,000 65,000 48,000 16,000 69,000 46,000 23,000 74,000 47,000 27,000 73,000 46,000 26,000 89,000 58,000 30,000 85,000 53,000 32,000 All artists Male Female 697,000 504,000 192,000 706,000 515,000 191,000 737,000 516,000 217,000 786,000 553,000 233,000 823,000 573,000 251,000 866,000 600,000 264,000 Note: Male plus female labor force may not equal occupation total due to rounding. * Art, drama, and music. ■HHHH 1977 1978 1980 14,118,000 3,044,000 6,074,000 14,626,000 8,326,000 6, 300,000 15,422,000 8,692,000 6,740,000 16,008,000 8,869,000 7,137,000 21,000 12,000 10,000 30,000 17,000 12,000 28,000 16,000 12,000 23,000 14,000 9,000 60,000 58,000 3,000 71,000 66,000 4,000 85,000 79,000 5,000 92,000 86,000 6,000 49,000 31,000 19,000 54,000 33,000 21,000 56,000 30,000 26,000 71,000 41,000 31,000 9,000 3,000 5,000 9,000 3,000 7,000 10,000 2,000 8,000 12,000 2,000 10,000 151,000 115,000 37,000 166,000 120,000 .0 00 184,000 131,000 53,000 198,000 139,000 60,000 167,000 117,000 50,000 0,000 112,000 48,000 154,000 101,000 53,000 153,000 108,000 44,000 183,000 101,000 83,000 191,000 103,000 87,000 193,000 105,000 89,000 199,000 000 101,000 86,000 . 100 1 1,000 100 000 14,000 .000 86,000 100 114,000 .000 24,000 . 000 . 000 100 000 100 '00 18,000 .000 100 19,000 14.000 000 4 1,000 28,000 000 45,000 100 16,000 '.000 000 14,000 1 .000 000 18,000 8 1,000 .000 10,000 ooo 000 31 ,000 000 . 000 .000 ,000 .000 000 878,000 934,000 643,000 289,000 .000 .000 320,000 1,020,000 .000 .000 37 Table 3 Labor force, employment, and unemployment in artist occupations 1971-80 ^■■■i Occupation 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 All professional and technical workers Employed Unemployed 11,416,000 11,085,000 331,000 11,741,000 11,459,000 282,000 12,037,000 11,777,000 260,000 12,623,000 12,338,000 285,000 13,173,000 12,748,000 425,000 13,769,000 13,329,000 440,000 Unemployment rate 2.9% 2.4% 2.2% 2.3% 3.2% 3.2% Actors Employed Unemployed 19,000 10,000 9,000 18,000 10,000 8,000 16,000 9,000 7,000 19,000 10,000 9,000 20,000 13,000 7,000 23,000 16,000 7,000 Unemployment Architects Employed Unemployed rate 47.5% 44.0% 45.1% 47.7% 34.8% 31.1% 70,000 69,000 1,000 68,000 66,000 2,000 74,000 73,000 1,000 73,000 71,000 2,000 74,000 70,000 4,000 64,000 63,000 1,000 Unemployment Authors Employed Unemployed rate 1.0% 3.3% 1.9% 2.7% 5.4% 2. 3% 33,000 31,000 2,000 31,000 30,000 1,000 39,000 38,000 1,000 47,000 46,000 1,000 47,000 45,000 2,000 49,000 48,000 1,000 Unemployment Dancers Employed Unemployed rate 6.0% 2.5% 1.7% 2.9% 3.6% 2.1% 10,000 7,000 3,000 6,000 5,000 1,000 10,000 8,000 2,000 7,000 5,000 2,000 8,000 6,000 2,000 7,000 3,000 4,000 Unemployment Designers Employed Unemployed rate * * * * * * 106,000 99,000 7,000 113,000 110,000 3,000 125,000 123,000 2,000 132,000 129,000 3,000 135,000 125,000 10,000 147,000 142,000 5,000 Unemployment rate Musicians/composers Employed Unemployed 6.2% 2.5% 1.8% 2.3% 7.6% 3.6% 126,000 116,000 10,000 130,000 121,000 9,000 129,000 120,000 9,000 146,000 140,000 6,000 151,000 139,000 12,000 165,000 150,000 15,000 Unemployment rate Painters/ sculptors Employed Unemployed 7.7% 6.9% 7.2% 3.9% 7.7% 9.1% 130,000 125,000 5,000 137,000 129,000 8,000 141,000 136,000 5,000 154,000 149,000 5,000 155,000 146,000 9,000 164,000 153,000 11,000 Unemployment rate Photographers Employed Unemployed 3.7% 5.9% 3.5% 3.1% 5.9% 6.5% 81,000 77,000 4,000 80,000 77,000 3,000 76,000 75,000 1,000 79,000 78,000 1,000 81,000 76,000 5,000 93,000 87,000 6,000 Unemployment rate Radio-TV announcers Employed Unemployed 4.4% 4.1% 1.7% 1.9% 6.5% 6.7% 28,000 25,000 3,000 24,000 22,000 2,000 19,000 18,000 1,000 21,000 20,000 1,000 24,000 22,000 2,000 28,000 26,000 2,000 Unemployment Teachers (high Employed Unemployed rate er ed. ) ** 9.8% 7.3% 5.7% 6.0% 8. 7% 8.3% 29,000 29,000 * 30,000 30,000 * 34,000 34,000 * 35,000 35,000 * 39,u00 38,000 1,000 41,000 39,000 2,000 Unemployment rate Other artists Employed Unemployed * * * * 2.9% 4.6% 65,000 60,000 5,000 69,000 66,000 3,000 74,000 72,000 2,000 73,000 70,000 3,000 89,000 84,000 5,000 85,000 79,000 6,000 Unemployment rate 7.4% 4.4% 2.9% 3.5% 5.2% 6.5% All artists Employed Unemployed 697,000 648,000 49,000 706,000 666,000 40,000 737,000 706,000 31,000 786,000 753,000 33,000 823,000 764,000 59,000 866,000 807,000 59,000 Unemployment rate 7.0% 5.7% 4.4% 4.2% 7.2% 6.8% Note: Employed plus unemployed may not equal occupation total due to rounding. Unemployment rates are computed based on unrounded estimates of the unemployment and labor force levels. * Data base is too small to provide a meaningful estimate (labor force of 10,000 or less; unemployment level below 500). ** Art, drama, and music. ^■■■■■H 1977 1978 1979 1980 14,118,000 14,626,000 15,422,000 16,008,000 13,692,000 14,245,000 15,049,000 15,613,000 426,000 381,000 373,000 395,000 3.0% 2.6% 2.4% 2.5% 21,000 30,000 28,000 23,000 13,000 21,000 18,000 15,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 8,000 38.5% 30.5% 35.8% 35.4% 60,000 71,000 85,000 92,000 58,000 69,000 84,000 90,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 2,000 3.6% 2.6% .6% 1.7% 49,000 54,000 56,000 71,000 47,000 53,000 55,000 70,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 3.5% 1.4% 2.6% 1.9% 9,000 9,000 10,000 12,000 8,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 2,000 * * * 14.2% 151,000 166,000 184,000 198,000 146,000 161,000 179,000 193,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 }. 3.3% 2.6% .6% 167,000 160,000 154,000 153,000 154,000 149,000 145,000 143,000 13,000 11,000 9,000 10,000 7.8% 6.6% 6.1% 6.2% 183,000 191,000 193,000 199,000 177,000 186,000 189,000 195,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 . 2.7% 2.0% . 2% 86,000 97,000 111,000 114,000 81,000 93,000 107,000 111,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 3,000 5.' 4.2% 3. 9% .100 22,000 19,000 ">00 25,000 21,000 18,000 19,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 • 4.6% 4.0% 4.2% « 43,000 45,000 .000 41,000 44,000 38,000 36,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 5.1* 1.8% 3.0% 5% .100 89,000 90,000 102,000 78,000 84,000 86,000 100 5,000 5,000 4,000 6,000 6.6% 5.9% 4. . 0% 878,000 4,000 969,000 1,020,000 3,000 889,000 928,000 8,000 50,000 45,000 41,000 100 5.7% 4.8% 4. 4.1% 39 APPENDIX B RELIABILITY OF CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) STATISTICS The data in this report are based on respon- ses obtained from the Current Population Survey which collects information from a representative sample rather than from ev- ery person in the nation. The statistics are therefore subject to sampling error, or sampling variability as it is also known. Precise measure of sampling error calls for comparison of the figure obtained from a complete count or census with one arrived at from a sample. Since this is not possi- ble, a "standard error" representing the average deviation of all possible samples is generally used as indication of how well an estimate from a sample approximates a complete count. The Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics publishes standard error tables from which figures relevant to the artist occupation samples can be extracted. Sampling variability occurs in both direc- tions, plus and minus, and small errors oc- cur more often than larger errors, so that about 68% of the time, variability will be less than the standard error. About 90% of the time, the figure based on a complete count would be in the range of plus or mi- nus 1.6 times the standard error of the estimate. The term "confidence interval" is used to designate such levels of prob- ability. The range from the standard er- ror below the estimate to the standard error above it is called the 68% confidence interval. The range from 1.6 times the standard error below the estimate to 1.6 times the standard error above it is called the 90% confidence interval. treme , the standard error for 199,000 es- timated painters/sculptors is 13,000 or almost 7%. Because these sampling errors are so large relative to the standard er- ror of less than 1% for all professional and technical workers, this report focuses on the differing labor force sizes among the occupations and the long term (over- the-decade) trends. This analytic approach is considered to be the best when using da- ta with relatively high sampling errors. Bureau of the Census Technical Paper 32, Standards for Discussion and Presentation of Errors in Data , states that ". . .estimates that are subject to large relative sampling errors frequently are small and the fact that the estimate is small is often suffi- cient information to be meaningful." Sim- ilarly, "The Analysis of Labor Statistics, " available from the Branch of International Training, Bureau of Labor Statistics (mim- eographed, revised 1979), notes that the analyst who observes consistent decline in successive months "may discern that there is an overall trend developing, even though the change from month to month is not significant (greater than the standard error) . " Table 4 provides the standard error and 68% and 90% confidence intervals for labor force, employment, and unemployment esti- mates for each of the artist occupations in 1980. Designers, for example, had an esti- mated labor force of 198,000 in 1980. The standard error for this estimate was 13, 000. Thus, the actual number in the designer la- bor force has a 68% probability of being somewhere between 185,000 and 211,000. There is a 90% probability that the number is somewhere between 177,000 and 219,000 (198,000 plus and minus 1.6 times 13,000) . Many of the estimates for artist occupa- tions shown in Table 4 have large standard errors relative to the size of the estimate. The small 12,000 labor force estimate for dancers has a 3,000 standard error — or 25% of the estimate; and even at the other ex- 40 Table 4 Standard errors and confidence intervals for artist labor force, employment, and unemployment 1980 Standard 68% confidence 90% confidence Estimates error interval interval Occupations for 1980 (+ or -) (range) (range) All professional and technical workers 16,008,000 121,000 15,887,000-16,129,000 15 814,000-16,202,000 Employed 15,613,000 119,000 15,494,000-15,732,000 15 423,000-15,803,000 Unemployed 395,000 19,000 376,000-414,000 365,000-415,000 Unemployment rate 2.5"* .1% 2.4-2.6% 2.3-2.7% Actors 23,000 5,000 18,000-28,000 15,000-31,000 Employed 15,000 4,000 11,000-19,000 9,000-21,000 Unemployed 8,000 3,000 5,000-11,000 3,000-13,000 Unemployment Architects rate 35.4% 9.8% 25.6-4 19.7-5. 92,000 9,000 83,000-101,000 78,000-106,000 Employed 90,000 9,000 81,000-99,000 76,000-104,000 Unemployed 2,000 1,000 1,000-3,000 0-4,000 Unemployment Authors rate 1.7% 1.3% .0% 0-3.8% 71,000 8,000 63,000-79,000 58,000-84,000 Employed 70,000 8,000 62,000-78,000 57,000-83,000 Unemployed 1,000 1,000 0-2,000 0-3,000 Unemployment Dancers rate 1.9% 1.6% .3-3.5% 0-4.5% 12,000 3,000 9,000-15,000 7,000-17,000 Employed 10,000 3,000 7,000-13,000 5,000-15,000 Unemployed 2,000 2,000 0-3,000 0-5.000 Unemployment Designers rate 14.2% 9.8% 4.4-24.0% 0-29.9% 198,000 13,000 185,000-211,000 177,000-219,000 Employed 193,000 13,000 180,000-196,000 172,000-214,000 Unemployed 5,000 2,000 3,000-7,000 2,000-8,000 Unemployment rate Musicians/composers 2.6% 1.3% 1.3-3.9% .5-4.7% 153,000 12,000 141,000-165,000 134,000-172,000 Employed 143,000 11,000 132,000-154,000 125,000-161.000 Unemployed 10,000 3,000 7,000-13,000 5,000-15,000 Unemployment rate Pa inters/ sculp tors 6.2% 2.1% 4 • A ™ o • J* 2.8-9. 199,000 13,000 186,000-212,000 178,000-220,000 Employed 195,000 13,000 182,000-208,000 174,000-216,000 Unemployed 4,000 2,000 2,000-6,000 1,000-7,000 Unemployment Photographers rate 2.2% 1.2% 1.0-3.4% -4.1% 114,000 10,000 104,000-124,000 98,000-130,000 Employed 111,000 10,000 101,000-121,000 95,000-127,000 Unemployed 3,000 2,000 1,000-5,000 0-6,000 Unemployment rate Radio-TV announcers 2.8% 1.5% 1. 3-4.1% .4 19,000 4,000 15,000-23,000 100-25, 000 Employed 19,000 4,000 15,000-23,000 13,000-25,000 iployed » • * ♦ Unemployment Teachers (high er ad.)** ♦ * • 37,000 6,000 31,000-43,000 000 Employed too 6,000 30,000-42,000 100-46,000 Unemployed 1 ,000 1,000 2.5% 0-2,000 0-3,000 Unemployment rate Other artists 0-5.0% 0-f 102,000 10,000 92,000-112,000 86,000-118,000 Employed 96,000 9,000 87,000-105,000 82,000-110,000 Unemployed 6,000 2,000 00-8,000 100-9,000 Unemployment lemployment rates and leve. lot shovi ** Art, drama, and music. oloyme- i be belc* 41 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) AS A SOURCE OF ARTIST OCCUPATION DATA The Current Population Survey is a 60,000- household general population survey that is conducted monthly by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its primary function is to provide the information necessary to compute national employment and unemployment statistics. Because comparatively specific questions a- bout the respondent's occupation are includ- ed in the survey, it is possible to derive employment and unemployment statistics for each occupation coded by the Census Bureau. Information about the major occupation groupings is published monthly by the Bu- reau of Labor Statistics, while data on smaller, more closely defined, occupation- al categories are issued annually. The an- nual figures for 19 71 through 19 80 are used in this report. The two major advantages CPS offers as a source of information about artists are: 1. National estimates for several char- acteristics of artist occupations which are directly comparable to the estimates for other occupations (because the survey, which uses a nationally representative sample, asks similar questions of all re- spondents) . 2. Regular periodic collection of data which may be used for trend analysis. The decennial census offers similar advan- tages in terms of comparability and regular intervals of collection but the intervals are full decades. On the other hand, the vastly larger size of the decennial census makes for greater data reliability. Clear- ly, both sources can and should be used, with the decennial censuses serving as benchmarks for the CPS. A third source of data on artist occupa- tions derived from a general population sur- vey using the same questions to determine the occupation of the respondents as the CPS and decennial censuses is the 1976 Sur- vey of Income and Education. This was a nationally representative sample survey of approximately 150,000 households. Because the sample size is larger than the CPS and, hence, offered statistics of greater reli- ability, Research Division Report #12 used this survey as a "mid-decade" benchmark and compared it with 1970 census results. While these three sources have the advantage of providing comparable national occupation- al statistics, they share several important limitations insofar as artists are concern- ed. The survey questions identify only the respondent's "primary occupation" (one in which the most hours are worked) rather than all jobs held. Other studies indi- cate that many artists work simultaneously in other occupations; these individuals would not be counted as artists unless more time was devoted to the art occupa- tion than to a second job. Another limi- tation derives from the fact that the oc- cupational classification system used by the Census Bureau during the 1970s did not specifically provide for some artist oc- cupations. Because no single occupational code explicitly included craft artists , for example, no estimate for this population can be extracted. (The 1980 census includes such artists under an expanded painters and sculptors code.) Other data collection methods have been used by the Research Division to gain per- spectives en the artist population which are not possible through the general pop- ulation surveys. For example, in studying the American craft artist population, the Division contacted all known craft member- ship organizations to determine number of members and in what media they worked. (See Research Division Report #13, Craft Artist Membership Organizations 1978 . ) A representative sample of craft artists was selected and surveyed on the basis of resulting information. Concurrently, a sample of craft artists was selected from exhibitors at galleries and fairs and craft publication subscribers to learn about affiliation (or nonaf filiation) with craft membership organizations and to compare member and nonmember characteristics. These studies provide a basis for esti- mating size and characteristics of the craft artist population which would not be possible from general population surveys. 42 REPORTS IN THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS RESEARCH DIVISION SERIES Since 1976 the Research Division of the National Endowment for the Arts has been studying matters of interest to the arts community and issuing reports based on its findings. Copies of the reports may be or- dered from the Publishing Center for Cul- tural Resources, 625 Broadway, New York City 10012 at the prices noted below. Checks should be made payable to "Publish- ing Center. " Prices include postage and handling; no state or local sales tax is applicable . #1 Employment and Unemployment of Artists : 1970-1975. 32 pages. April 1976. $2.50 #2 To Survey American Crafts: A Planning Study. 32 pages. July 1977. $2.50 #3 Understanding the Employment of Actors. 36 pages. September 1977. $2.00 #4 Arts and Cultural Programs on Radio and Television. 92 pages. September 1977. $3.50 #5 Where Artists Live: 1970. 80 pages. October 1977. $3.00 #6 Economic Impact of Arts and Cultural Institutions: A Model for Assessment and a Case Study in Baltimore. 96 pages. November 1977. $3.50 #14 Audience Development: An Examination of Selected Analysis and Prediction Tech- niques Applied to Symphony and Theatre At- tendance in Four Southern Cities. 4 8 pages. January 1981. ISBN 0-89062-097-0 $2.50 #15 Economic Impact of Arts and Cultural Institutions: Case Studies in Columbus, Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Springfield. 102 pages. January 1981. ISBN 0-89062-106-3 $3.50 #16 Artist Employment 1971-1980. 44 pages. ISBN 0-89062-135-7 $3. and Unemployment January 1982. 00 #7 Minorities and Women in the Arts 32 pages. January 1978. $2.50 1970 #8 The State Arts Agencies in 1974: Present and Accounted For. 160 pages April 1978. $4.50 All #9 Audience Studies of the Performing Arts and Museums: A Critical Review. 106 pages. November 1978. $3.00 #10 Self-Employment, Migration, and House- hold and Family Characteristics of Artists: 1970. 32 pages. November 1978. $2.00 #11 Conditions and Needs of the Profes- sional American Theatre. 120 pages. Jan- uary 1980. ISBN 0-89062-076-8 $4.50 #12 Artists Compared by Age, Sex, and Earnings in 1970 and 1976. 54 pages. January 1980. ISBN 0-89062-0 77-6 $2.50 #13 Craft Artist Membership Organizations 1978. 48 pages. January 1981. ISBN 0-89062-089-X $2.50 LI 43 Produced and distributed by Publishing Center tor Cultural Resources, 625 Broadway, New York City 10012. Price (incl. postage): $3.