Data on cultural employment first appeared as part of a wide-ranging report on cultural statistics in 1995. For the first time, information on the size, structure and diversity of the sector was available. This report showed that employment in the cultural sector was growing at a significantly faster rate than employment overall. Following subsequent censuses, more detailed stand-alone reports on cultural employment were published, first in 1998 and then in 2005. The current report continues that series with an extensive analysis of 2006 Census data.
Information in this report is presented under the nine major categories outlined in the cultural statistics framework. Under these headings, it presents the data according to cultural occupations and cultural industries, covering the number of people employed, their income, qualifications, age, whether they work part-time or full-time, the location of the industries in which they work, and changes since the last report.