Issue Brief: The Status of Artists and Creative Workers

The Arts Impact Initiative released an issue brief in February 2022 based upon research data and analyses surrounding the status of the artist work force.

The purpose of this issue brief is to expand the current understanding of the status of individual artists and creative workers. Specifically, we focus on insights that can be garnered from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, the primary data source on employment and unemployment in the United States, and its Annual Social and Economic Supplement to offer an initial look at the following topics on the national level:

• unemployment and receipt of unemployment benefits,
• self-employment, and
• multiple job-holdings and mixed earners.