This sector will continue to have relatively high levels of non-traditional employment patterns.  Many of the people employed in the media industries are self-employed freelancers: these numbers are set to increase in the future.  Flexible forms of employment contracts are often used in this sector, which will be a continuing trend in the future.  However, this is not the case in all sectors, interactive media and games are less reliant on freelancers for example.

The number of people employed in media occupations is increasing, but entry into both broadcasting and journalism is very competitive.  The occupational group known as ‘media associate professionals’ is forecast to increase from 175,000 to 230,000 in 2010 which amounts to a 2.5% annual increase.

Source: Spilsbury 2002