DECEMBER, 2009

Culture is a major generator of jobs in Montreal

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Culture is a major generator of jobs in Montreal, shows a study of The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. Nearly 100,000 people work in the culture sector of Montreal's economy, these numbers surpass the jobs created by the life sciences and aerospace clusters combined, says the report. The jobs in culture are growing three times faster than in all other economic sectors. Economic data shows that the culture sector makes 6% of the GDP of the metropolis.

Study highlights:

- In 2008, there were 96,910 direct jobs created in the cultural sector for annual growth of 4.6% in 10 years, or almost three times more than the total labour market average, which was 1.7% over the same period.

- The overall annual economic spin-offs (direct and indirect) of Montréal's cultural sector have been calculated at $12 billion. The direct contribution to the economy is $7.8 billion, or about 6% of the GDP of the Greater Montréal region.

- The average salary of artists, authors and performers is $24,400. This job category is the least well paid of the cultural sector at barely more than half (55%) of the average salary in the cultural sector ($44,000).

- The 294 artistic organizations that make up the sample analysed by the Conseil des arts de Montréal receive 21% of their funding from the private sector, which includes 14% in donations and 7% in sponsorships. This percentage varies greatly depending on the budget and activity sector of the cultural organization.

Link to the study: www.btmm.qc.ca/culture_funding

 

Source: The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. The Board has nearly 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montreal and to provide individuals, merchants, and businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.