VALUE ADDED
The Cultural and Creative Sector generated $1.6 billion in output and $790 million in value added in 2018/19, 6.5% of the total Northern Beaches economy.
This represented 4.2% of Greater Sydney's total Cultural and Creative Sector value.
In 2018/19, $98.2M (12%) of value was generated by Architectural Services activities.
Other professional services like Design, Advertising and Photography were also well represented.
Value added in the sector grew by 1.0% p.a. between 2015/16 and 2018/19, down from 2.8% p.a. experienced between 2010/11 and 2015/16.
Growth in the sector locally has been below the Greater Sydney average in recent years (3.8% p.a.) but was above average between 2010/11 and 2015/16 (Greater Sydney, 2.7% p.a.)
EMPLOYMENT
The Cultural and Creative Sector supported 7,050 jobs (6.5% of total jobs in the LGA) and provided employment for 13,207 residents (8.5% of all employed residents) in 2018/19.
This local sector represented 4.5% of Greater Sydney's total Cultural and Creative Sector jobs.
In 2018/19, 776 (11%) of local jobs were in Architectural Services activities.
The industry that employed the most local residents (inside and outside the LGA) was Advertising Services with 2,087 (16% of all Cultural and Creative resident workers).
Local Jobs in the sector grew by 0.8% p.a. between 2015/16 and 2018/19, up from 0.6% p.a. experienced between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Growth in local residents who work in the sector (inside and outside the LGA) has been much higher, averaging 3.0% p.a. in the three years to 2018/19.
Growth in the sector locally has been much lower than the Greater Sydney average in recent years (3.3% p.a.) but was on par between 2010/11 and 2015/16 (Greater Sydney, 0.7% p.a.)
SPECIALISATIONS
In 2018/19, the most over-represented industries* in the Northern Beaches were Book and Magazine Wholesaling (4.1x the Greater Sydney average share of Cultural and Creative jobs) and Professional Photographic Services (2.5x).
The most over-represented occupations were Landscape Architects, Photographers and Authors.
* Over-represented means a higher share of Northern Beaches Cultural and Creative workers are in this industry compared to the Greater Sydney average.
2nd
Largest number of jobs in NSW in:
Specialised Design Service
(after City of Sydney)
Photographic services
(after City of Sydney)
Book and Magazine Wholesale/Retail
(after City of Sydney)
Arts Education
(after City of Sydney)
3rd
Largest number of jobs in NSW in:
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Architectural
Services
(after City of Sydney and North Sydney)
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Creative Artists, Musicians, Writers and Performers
(after City of Sydney and Inner West)
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Advertising Services
(after City of Sydney, North Sydney and
Lane Cove)
Industry Concentrations
Largest number of jobs in NSW in:
4TH
N.B. A location quotient is a simple way of seeing which are the main industries in an area, relative to the larger benchmark region. LQ shows the percentage of the local economy characteristic (eg. employment, value add) in a particular industry divided by the percentage of the characteristic in the industry in a benchmark area (region, state, nation) . A number greater than 1 suggest the industry is over-represented locally and could be a specialisation.
BUSINESSES
In 2019, the largest share of registered businesses, just over 500, were in specialised design services (e.g. graphic design).
Another 16% (412) were in advertising services.
Registered business numbers declined by 0.5% p.a. (-63 businesses) between June 2011 and 2016, led by falls in Printing (-33).
However, since 2016 business numbers have grown by 2.4% p.a. (+174), led by increases in Motion Picture and Video Production (+46) and Professional Photographic Services (+33).
WORKFORCE PROFILE
The Northern Beaches Cultural and Creative Sector workforce is evenly split gender wise with a third born overseas and almost half running their own business.
42
years
old
Median Age
Male
49%
Female
51%
33% Born o/s
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45% Owner-Manager
56% Full-Time
$51,000
Median Income
In 2016, the main occupations of local workers in the Northern Beaches Cultural and Creative Sector were Graphic and Web Designers and Architects.
This aligns with the two top field of study areas for qualified workers - Graphic Arts and Design Studies, and Architecture.
In 2016, 43% of local workers in the Northern beaches Cultural and Creative Sector had degree level qualifications. This is higher than the share of local workers in all sectors (35%).
Qualification attainment is on par with the national average but below that for Greater Sydney workers as a whole in the sector (51% degree qualified in 2016).
In 2016, 45% of local workers in the Northern Beaches Cultural and Creative Sector were aged 45 years or over. This contrasts with Greater Sydney workers as a whole in the sector where only 36% were aged 45 years or over in 2016.
This biggest difference is in the 25 to 34 year age bracket which represented only 18% of Northern Beaches workers in 2016, but 28% of Greater Sydney's.
GEOGRAPHY
In 2016, Freshwater - Brookvale had an estimated 1,427 jobs in the Cultural and Creative Sector, just under 21% of the Northern Beaches total. The largest industry was Professional Photographic Services. Frenchs Forest - Belrose was another key location with 1,040 jobs, most in Free-to-Air Television Broadcasting.
This report relies on data sourced from NIEIR (2020) and ABS Census of Population and Housing (2011, 2016).
The sector definition is based on industries and occupations used in ABS 6273.0 - Employment in Culture, Australia, 2011.
Therefore, not all creative industries, especially highly specialised ones (e.g. surfboard shapers) will be included.