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Creative Occupations

Western North Carolina’s “creative economy” encompasses a diverse array of occupations, including photographers, writers and authors, musicians and singers, fine artists, designers, actors, architects and landscape architects, librarians, and public relations professionals. In 2011, total jobs in this sector were 14,233.

A breakdown of the region’s creative sector jobs is shown in the accompanying table. Some creative occupations are better represented in Western North Carolina than statewide or nationally on a per capita basis. This is particularly true of landscape architects, commercial and industrial designers, set and exhibit designers, music directors and composers, and craft artisans (compared to state averages). Data are drawn from the Creative Vitality Index (CVI) diagnostic tool, which identifies standard creative occupations. Because the data are compiled from national labor statistics that rely on self-reporting, it is likely that the number of creative occupations is undercounted.

Location Quotient (LQ) is an index value for each occupation, measuring whether or not there is a per capita concentration of an occupation within the area being measured. In the accompanying table, the CVI scores of Western North Carolina are compared with state and national averages, which are each set to a benchmark index score of 1.00. For example, compared to the state average, the LQ score for Writers and Authors in Western North Carolina is 1.17, meaning that the number of writers and authors in Western North Carolina is 17% higher than in the state as a whole (on a per capita basis).

Creative Occupations in Western North Carolina*, 2011

Occupation Type Jobs LQ (compared to state) LQ (compared to nation)
Photographers 2,619 1.00 0.82
Musicians and Singers 1,768 1.22 1.03
Writers and Authors 1,327 1.17 0.92
Graphic Designers 1,122 0.95 0.81
Art Directors 646 1.21 0.92
Music Directors and Composers 590 1.19 1.21
Multi-Media Artists and Animators 574 1.09 0.88
Directors, Religious Activities 568 1.10 1.38
Public Relations Specialists 559 0.76 0.51
Librarians 499 0.87 0.90
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval 426 0.93 0.72
Floral Designers 362 1.21 1.12
Editors 349 0.93 0.64
Interior Designers 285 1.05 0.96
Radio and Television Announcers 268 0.98 0.88
Producers and Directors 223 0.94 0.54
Commercial and Industrial Designers 215 1.45 1.10
Fine Artists including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators 204 1.19 0.94
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes 195 1.12 0.87
Actors 174 1.08 0.60
Media and Communication Workers, All Other 174 0.96 0.74
Landscape Architects 143 1.56 1.35
Advertising and Promotion Managers 124 0.98 0.61
Audio and Video Equipment Technicians 123 0.84 0.52
Public Relations Managers 115 0.63 0.50
Broadcast Technicians 108 0.93 0.77
Set and Exhibit Designers 85 1.27 1.37
Fashion Designers 65 1.09 0.60
Film and Video Editors 55 0.82 0.57
Technical Writers 51 0.37 0.28
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Motion Picture 49 0.73 0.45
Choreographers 46 1.12 0.57
Sound Engineering Technicians 33 0.90 0.45
Dancers 31 0.93 0.50
Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners 30 0.99 0.85
Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Other 28 0.60 0.37
Total 14,233    
Craft Artisans ** 453 1.32 not available

Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. Complete Employment

* Data are available for 23 counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey.

** Craft Artisans are not included in the CVI’s standard set of creative occupations.

References

WESTAF. 2011. Creative Vitality Index. Courtesy of North Carolina Arts Council. Accessed from: https://cvi.westaf.org.