55,960 people are provided with paid employment by the sector (53,810 as a main occupation, 2,150 as a secondary occupation).  However once volunteers are added to the ‘workforce’, this total could more than triple.  The largest segment is museums, accounting for 31,740 people (or 59%) of this workforce.  Cultural heritage contributes 0.15% of GVA to the UK economy.  Museums make the most significant contribution to this at 85% - since admission charges were scrapped to national museums, there have been 30 million extra visitors.

Although the sector is heavily publicly funded, the sector faces increasing economic pressure; for example organisations increasingly need to demonstrate that they add value.

Although the sector is moving towards a more commercial model, it still does not tend to compete in the traditional sense.  The focus is on organisations being the best that they can be.

Key statistics:

• 53,810 people work in the cultural heritage sector.
• 7% are self employed and 3% are freelancers.
• Cultural heritage contributes £951m of GVA to the UK economy.  
• There is a small majority of female workers in the industry (52%).  
• 95% of the cultural heritage workforce is white.
• There are 1,340 businesses in the sector.
• 13% of organisations employ 20 or more people.

Sources: Skills Needs Assessment 2007 and Gap Analysis and Market Testing 2007

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