The cultural economy: An in-depth analysis of cultural workers (2010‒2024) and cultural enterprises (2011‒2022) Culture, a dynamic but atypical working environment

23.05.2025 - In 2024, there were around 300 000 cultural workers in Switzerland, a figure that has been rising again since the pandemic. A highly educated workforce, cultural workers find themselves in a variety of atypical situations. Over 50% of them work part-time. Multi-activity has become increasingly common since 2010. There are double the number of freelancers among cultural workers than in the rest of the economy. Earnings are also lower. While the Swiss culture sector is thriving, with a record 67 313 enterprises and gross added value of 16.3 billion in 2022, employment in this sector has been falling since 2011. These are the results of an analysis of long-term trends in the cultural economy by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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