London's creative industries - 2017 update

Working Paper 89 uses the definitions of the creative industries and creative economy developed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to update our analysis of the creative sector in London. It provides our latest understanding on its importance in terms of output, employment and productivity.

• London’s creative industries represent a significant part of the capital’s economy. In 2015, GVA of the creative industries in London was estimated at £42.0 billion, accounting for an estimated 11.1 per cent of London’s total GVA, and for just under half (47.4 per cent) of the UK creative industries total.

• And the wider creative economy is a growing sector for employment. There were 882,900 jobs in London’s creative economy in 2016, up by almost a quarter (24.2 per cent) since 2012. The creative economy now makes up around 16.9 per cent of all jobs in the capital, compared to 7.9 per cent of jobs in the rest of the UK.
  • The paper also looks at employment in London's creative industries sector by pay, employment status and socio-economic characteristics (place of birth, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic group).

• In-line with its higher pay, London’s creative industries are also highly productive. GVA per workforce job (as a proxy for productivity) was equal to £71,400 in 2015 – 22.2 per cent higher than the average across all sectors of the London economy, and 35.5 per cent higher than the average for the creative industries nationally.