According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number employed in eleven artist occupation groups grew from 1.6 to 1.8 million from 1995 to 1996.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in artist occupations in 1997 continued to grow faster than in professional occupations as a whole (3.7% versus 2.6%). Total employment in the eleven artist occupations stood at 1.9 million in 1997.

Drawing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2010-11 Edition, Research Note #103 discusses job prospects for artists and other selected cultural occupations from 2008 to 2018.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that, in 2002, job market conditions weakened for the total civilian work force and for most workers in artist occupations. Unemployment among workers in artist occupations reached 116,000 in 2002, while the unemployment rate for artists hit 5.5 percent, up from 3.5 percent in 2000.

This note reports the state location of workers in 11 detailed artist occupations. It examines the state concentration of artists as a share of the total civilian labor force, and state patterns in the location of individual artist occupations.

Note #105 uses multiyear averages from the American Community Survey (2005-2009) to enumerate the nation’s artists and to describe their demographic traits, work patterns, and nationwide concentration. The Note also explores links between individual artist occupations and specific industries, and it reports occupational and industry patterns for workers who obtained arts-related degrees in college. Finally, the Note identifies state and metropolitan-level concentrations of employment within arts industries.