Employment relationships in arts and culture

This paper, written by Gijsbert van Liemt, considers the occupational characteristics of cultural workers and their employment relationships and income, the role of the State in cultural and creative industries, and to what extent arts and culture set the trend for the rest of the labour market. It provides an overview of technological, business and financial changes occurring in recent years in the live performance, arts and culture subsector in some OECD countries and how these have affected employment relationships. He assesses whether employment is becoming less secure, if freelance work is increasingly prevalent, and whether social dialogue is addressing the challenges of the industry. The arts and culture industry is undergoing significant change, and information and communications technology has already had a major effect on the composition of the sector and on employment relationships within it. He notes that most arts and culture workers have a high level of commitment to their work, have fragmented and often unpredictable employment patterns, are often underemployed, and tend to work fewer hours than they would like to.