There were 193,000 photographers working in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2008, compared to 167,000 during the same period of the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
At the same time, more photographers were also failing to find work. The number of unemployed photographers doubled from 6,000 to 12,000 in the last quarter of 2008, compared to the same period of 2007.
The unemployment rate for photographers rose to 6 percent, the result of a recession that has led to rising unemployment in almost every field. That rate was roughly in line with the national average, but was twice the rate for other occupations categorized as “professional.”
The data about photographer employment appeared in a report issued this week by the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA relied on previously unpublished Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Detailed data of this sort is usually only released once a year, and data for 2009 is not yet available.
Unemployment rates for artists are rising faster than for the population as a whole, the NEA found.
Photography stood out from most other artistic professions, however, for growing the number of people employed in the work force. Other artistic professions, including musicians, designers and actors, show flat or declining numbers.
The data was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, which surveys 50,000 households every month. Respondents are surveyed based on the type of work they’ve done during the week of the survey, and are identified by the job they spent the most time doing that week.
Source document
NEA Research Note: Artists in a Year of Recession: Impact on Jobs in 2008
