Otis College released its findings for the 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy featuring remarks by L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Frieze Los Angeles Executive Director Bettina Korek, and Executive Director of Economic Research at Beacon Economics Robert Kleinhenz on Friday, February 1at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the L.A. Central Library.
The 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy marks the first time that Otis College of Art and Design has partnered with Beacon Economics to generate the Report, with support on its statewide findings from the California Arts Council. Watch the presentation and download the report at otis.edu/creative-economy/2019.
“Working for the first time with Beacon Economics, in this eleventh year of the report, we take advantage of much learning that has evolved over the last decade,” said Bruce W. Ferguson, President of Otis College, in his written welcome to the Otis Report. “Sectors have been consolidated, race and gender are examined for the first time, and more attention has been placed on providing a richer context. Against the backdrop of these innovations stands the underlying truth that this report helps illuminate: Los Angeles and California are home to rich and vibrant creative communities with robust and growing economies that deserve to be taken seriously in their own right. It is critical that leaders from public, private, and non-profit sectors work together to support this type of examination in order for the larger creative economy to continue to flourish and thrive.”
Supervisor Ridley-Thomas said, “This report is an important and unique contribution that illustrates and quantifies what we’ve known to be instinctively true—an investment in our creative economy is a meaningful investment in the growing future of this region, one that’s now reached a magnitude of more than $207 billion countywide and more than $600 billion statewide. The Board of Supervisors for the County of Los Angeles will continue to do all that we can to extend our region’s cultural and creative influence as a hub for the creative economy.”
Started in 2007, the report is an invaluable tool to assess the tremendous economic impact and influence of the area's creative sector on the economy. The 2019 Report also comes at the heels of the debut launch of Frieze Los Angeles, something that Bettina Korek commented about in her remarks where she outlined the growth as well as economic and educational contributions brought by the expansion of the arts sector in the Greater Los Angeles region.
Significant findings in the 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California include:
- In total, the direct employment generated by creative industries account for around 11% of total employment in Los Angeles County, and statewide in California, creative industries were responsible for 15% of total employment overall, in terms of direct and indirect employment.
- This impressive figure means Los Angeles County is the largest hub by employment for the creative industries in the U.S., with 10% more creative workers employed in the County than the next largest center for the creative industries in the country, New York City.
- On average, a creative industry job is higher than the county-wide average. (Creative: $103,000 versus non-creative average: $61,000)
- The Fashion sector in Los Angeles County employs around 24% more workers than its East Coast counterpart in New York City.
- There has been a very robust increase in employment in the field of Architecture and Related Services & Fine Arts and Performing Arts – increasing by 32%, demonstrating the health of arts and design in Los Angeles as a key growth area in the economy.
Findings for the 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region and California are available for download online in addition to an interactive exploration that allows greater exploration into the report findings at otis.edu/creative-economy/2019.
Funding for the 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy was provided by California Arts Council; Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Second District; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; City National Bank; Endeavor; Arthur J. Gallagher; and Moss Adams.
Media partners include Californians for the Arts, Arts for L.A., and Arts Orange County.
Image: Beacon’s Executive Director of Research Robert Kleinhenz, Ph.D., California Arts Council Director Anne Bown-Crawford, and Bettina Korek, executive director of Frieze Los Angeles 2019 at the launch event for the 2019 Otis Report on the Creative Economy.