Half of currently unemployed creatives lost their job due to coronavirus, says survey

UK creative industry networking website Creativepool has released the results of a survey it carried out in April, aiming to gauge the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the creative jobs market. The report found that half of currently unemployed creatives lost their job due to the crisis, while 80 per cent of creative organisations are not currently hiring. An earlier report by the platform found that three quarters of small businesses are likely to close by September if lockdown measures remained the same, though this forecast could shift now the UK government has released plans for a phased change to lockdown restrictions.

The platform surveyed over 1,200 members of the industry from agency leaders to marketers, freelancers and full-time creatives to investigate how the outbreak might impact the creative jobs market, with 55.8 per cent of respondents from small businesses. 70 per cent of respondents said they were worried about the security of their current job, while 56.8 per cent stated they are experiencing “considerably less clients” due to the pandemic and 65 per cent said their budgets have been “considerably affected”.

With a huge majority of creative businesses on a hiring hiatus, it is most concerning that 90 per cent of surveyed creatives said they will not be able to live for more than six months without, or with less, work – this despite many already relying on savings and government financial support. Creativepool’s earlier report said that freelancers specifically had been hit hardest, with half stating they would not be able to survive for more than three months with fewer clients.

Read the full report here.

Last month, the Creative Industries Federation wrote an open letter to the UK government urging immediate support for the industry, stressing that half of UK creative businesses could only last until June on existing financial reserves. This letter was signed by nearly 500 leading creative figures including Grayson Perry, Jeremy Deller and PJ Harvey.