Last week, I examined the nationwide data on multiple job holding in the arts and culture. This week, I analyze available data for the provinces.

The post is based on data from the 2022 Labour Force Survey, specifically annual averages for workers with an employment position, not those who are self-employed in their main job.

The proportion of employed arts and culture workers having multiple jobs ranges from 9.0% to 14.9% across the provinces, while the proportion of all employees with multiple jobs ranges from just 4.8% to 7.3%.
An added bonus this week: I get some answers to a question about which I have been curious for the past 20 years. That question: Are arts and culture workers in smaller or larger provinces more likely to hold multiple jobs?

Summary data (only) on arts and culture workers in most provinces

Because of its relatively small sample size, the Labour Force Survey provides summary data only for arts and culture workers in most provinces. The summary data relate to what Statistics Canada calls occupations in the arts, culture, recreation, and sports, except management.

A large majority of people in these occupations – roughly 75 to 80% – are arts and culture workers.

Within this broad occupational grouping, there are four detailed occupation groups. In Statistics Canada’s language, these are:

Professional occupations in the arts and culture, which include: some artists, such as producers, directors, conductors, and musicians; writers, translators, and other communications professionals; as well as librarians, archivists, conservators, and curators.
Technical occupations in the arts and culture, including: graphic and interior designers; as well as technical workers in libraries, archives, motion pictures, broadcasting, and the performing arts.
Other occupations in the arts, culture, and sports, including: artists such as dancers, actors, comedians, circus performers, photographers, craftspeople, and visual artists; theatre and fashion designers; select museum and art gallery jobs (e.g., registrars, restorers); assistants in film, broadcasting, photography, and performing arts; as well as a few sports occupations (athletes, coaches, and referees).
Support occupations in the arts, culture, and sports, including: program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport, and fitness; as well as puppeteers, buskers, magicians, portrayers of Santa Claus, influencers, and models. The recreation and sports workers in this occupational group greatly outnumber the cultural workers.

For the three largest provinces (only), the multiple job holding statistics are reliable for the first three of these detailed groupings, the ones that contain the most cultural workers. My analysis of this information follows the presentation of the summary data that are available for all provinces. (The three detailed groupings were analyzed in last week’s post on the nationwide statistics.)

In every province, employees in the arts and culture are much more likely to have multiple jobs than other workers

Statistical insights on the arts

The multiple job holding rate in the arts and…

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