Study: Culture sector employment in rural Canada

1996 to 2003

Proportionately fewer people are employed in the culture sector in rural Canada compared to the nation as a whole, according to a new study.

In 2003, less than 3% of Canada's rural workforce was employed in the culture sector. In comparison, just under 4% of the country's total workforce was employed in the culture sector.

The study, which uses Statistics Canada's Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics and Labour Force Survey data, examines culture employment in rural and urban Canada between 1996 and 2003.

The culture sector is broadly defined as creative artistic activity and the preservation of human heritage. It encompasses the associated activities of creation, production, manufacturing, distribution and support services.

While a strong culture sector can improve the economic prosperity of a community through job creation, it also has peculiar advantages. Cultural vitality raises the quality of life and thus increases the attractiveness of a locality to potential new residents, tourists and investors.

The culture sector is of growing economic importance to Canada, and culture sector employment is expanding faster than total employment both in rural areas and at the national level.

The study found that culture sector employment grew more quickly than overall employment in rural areas between 1996 and 2003. Rural cultural employment rose at about 2.6% per year, whereas overall rural employment increased at an annual average rate of 1.5%.

Rural areas have a higher share of jobs in some culture sub-sectors than in others. Between 1996 and 2003, about one-quarter of all jobs in the heritage sub-sector were held by rural residents, while a little over one-fifth of all jobs in the visual arts sub-sector were held by rural residents.

Meanwhile, less than one-tenth of all jobs in the architecture, advertising and performing arts sub-sectors were held by rural residents.

Compared to both the average rural worker and the average culture worker, rural culture workers were more likely to be employed part-time. Between 1996 and 2003 for Canada as a whole, less than 20% of total workers and about 22% of culture sector workers were employed part-time.

In comparison, 37% of rural culture sector workers were employed part-time.

Nearly one-half of rural workers in Canada's film industry culture sub-sector were employed part-time. This high figure resulted from much of the work being performed on a project or contract basis.

More than one-third of the rural workforce was employed part-time in the advertising, performing arts, photography and visual arts culture sub-sectors.

Within Canada's provinces, rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador reported the strongest growth in culture sector employment, with an average increase of 8% a year from 1996 to 2003. Alberta's rural areas also reported a strong culture sector employment growth of 6% a year on average during the same period.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

The Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin: Rural employment in the culture sector, Vol. 6, no. 8 (21-006-XIE, free) is now available on our website from the Our products and services page.

For more information or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Neil Rothwell (613-951-3719, neil.rothwell@statcan.ca), Agriculture Division.