RTI STS
 

IN THE WORK FORCE:
 

Employment and 

1970-1990 

Research Report #37 

Neil O. Alper and Gregory H. Wassail 

Joan Jeffri and Robert Greenblatt 

Ann O. Kay and Stephyn G. W. Butcher 

Harry Hillman Chartrand 

Earnings,
 

NATIONAL 

ENDOWMENT 

FOR THE ARTS 
Artists in the Work Force:
 

Employment and Earnings,
 

1970 to 1990
 
Artists in the Work Force:
 

Employment and Earnings,
 

1970 to 1990
 

Neil O. Alper and Gregory H. Wassail
 

Joan Jeffri and Robert Greenblatt
 

Ann O. Kay and Stephyn G. W. Butcher
 

Harry Hillman Chartrand
 

Research Division Report #37 

National Endowment for the Arts 

Seven Locks Press 

Santa Ana, California 
Artists in the Work Force: Employment and Earnings, 1970 to 1990 is Report #37 in 

a series on matters of interest to the arts community commissioned by the Research 

Division of the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Cover photos: (L to R) Novelist Alice Walker (photo by Jean Weisinger); participants 

in the Mayors’ Institute on City Design; Victoria Finlayson and Alan Good of the 

Merce Cunningham Dance Company (photo by Michael O’Neill); Glassblowing at 

the Rhode Island School of Design (photo by David O’Connor). 

First Printed 1996 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

Artists in the work force: employment and earnings, 1970 to 1990/ 

Neil O. Alper... let al.]. 

p. cm.-- (Research Division report: #37)
 

ISBN 0-929766-48-6
 

1. Artists--Employment--United States. 2. Artists--Salaries, etc.,--United 

States. I. Alper, Neil, 1949- II. Series: Research Division report (National 

Endowment for the Arts. Research Division); 37. 

NX504.A855. 1996 

331.12’517’00973--dc20 

Manufactured in the United States of America 

Seven Locks Press 

Santa Ana, California 

1-800-354-5348 
Table of Contents 

Executive Summary
 

Authors 1
 

Performing Artists
 

Architecture and Design Arts Occupations
 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands 3
 

Introduction 

The Write Stuff: Employment and
 

Earnings of Authors, 1970-1990 13
 

Census Data Used to Analyze Authors’
 

Issues in Using Census Data to Analyze
 

Growth in the Author Profession and
 

Overview 13
 

Profile of American Authors 14
 

Evidence on Author’s Multiple Job Holding 16
 

Evidence on Authors from Non-Census Sources 17
 

Authors in the U.S. Census 18
 

Work Experiences 19
 

Authors’ Labor Force 19
 

Whom Does the Census Define as an Author? 20
 

Where Writers Work 22
 

For Whom Authors Work: Distribution by Industry 24
 

Demographic Characteristics of Authors 25
 

Authors in the Labor Market 28
 

Earnings of Authors 32
 

Authors in the U.S. and Elsewhere 40
 

Current Population Survey 41
 

Non-Census Surveys 43
 

Alper-Wassall Survey 44
 

Columbia University’s RCAC Survey 48
 

Special Artist Surveys 49
 

Administrative Records 52
 

Writers in Other Countries 55
 

Conclusion 56
 

About the Authors 58
 
vi I Artists in the Workforce 

II.	 Artists Who Work with Their Hands
 

A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 59
 

Overview 59
 

Data from the United States Census 60
 

Discrete Surveys 61
 

Challenges 63
 

Other United States Data 65
 

United States Census Data, 1970-1990 65
 

Geographic Trends 66
 

68
 

Education 68
 

Employment and Earnings 69
 

Discrete Surveys 72
 

The Artist’s Work-Related, Human and Social Services 72
 

Questionnaire (1986)
 

Information on Artists Survey (1988) 73
 

Information on Artists: Boston and New York 78
 

Artists Training and Career Project (ATC) 1990-91 79
 

Artists and Jobs Questionnaire 1980 81
 

Discrepancies 82
 

Conclusion 83
 

About the Authors 84
 

III.	 Employment and Earnings of Performing
 

Artists, 1970 to 1990 85
 

Overview 85
 

Data Sources and Conceptual Issues 86
 

Performing Artist Surveys 87
 

Union Pension Records 87
 

Employment and Earnings Analysis 88
 

Labor Force Status 88
 

Class of Worker 92
 

Industry of Employment 93
 

Weeks of Work and Usual Weekly Hours 94
 

Earnings 96
 

Geographic Distribution 106
 

Conclusion 110
 

About the Authors 111
 
Table of Contents l vii 

Architecture and Design Arts Occupations,
 

1970 to 1990
 

Overview
 

Evidence 

Difficulties 

Trends 

Comparative Occupational Groups 

Architects 

Definitions 

Landscape Architects 

Membership 

Age 

Ethnicity and Race 

Residence 

Gender 

Attainment 

Employment 

Income 

Designers 

Membership 

Age 

Ethnicity and Race 

Residence 

Gender 

Education 

Employment 

Income 

Conclusion 

Professionalization and Competition 

Design Deficit 

Design Rights 

Aesthetic Utopians 

Forecasts 

About the Author 

References 

112
 

112
 

112
 

113
 

113
 

114
 

114
 

114
 

115
 

116
 

116
 

117
 

119
 

120
 

121
 

123
 

125
 

127
 

128
 

129
 

130
 

130
 

132
 

132
 

135
 

138
 

138
 

139
 

140
 

140
 

141
 

141
 

142
 

142
 
Executive Summary 

The focus of this report commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts 

is on four distinct groups of artists: authors, architects and designers, performing 

artists and artists who work with their hands. The report attempts to answer certain 

basic questions about where artists live and work and what they earn. Do they 

support their art or does it support them? How well did the growth and changes in 

art occupations over the two decades covered by the report keep pace with those of 

professionals in other fields with comparable education and training? The report also 

examines trends regarding the artists’ economic conditions, age, gender, race, 

ethnicity, education, area of residence, employment sector, earnings and multiple job 

holdings. An underlying assumption throughout the report is that the intrinsic 

rewards for artists in doing the work they most want to do cannot be quantified. 

The authors of the four sections of the report represent different disciplines in 

art, education, and economics, but they share a general concern for the art world and 

its career participants. They worked independently, focusing on their specialized 

fields and studying existing data bases, including those of the U. S. Census, various 

surveys of artists and industry records. Although they were often researching similar 

information on artist occupations, the authors approached their studies from 

different perspectives, using various analytical techniques. The result of their efforts 

is a comprehensive, revealing look at issues affecting the entire set of artist 

occupations covered by the Census from 1970 to 1990. 

The authors generally agree on the advantages and limitations of using data from 

the broad-based Census and the more limited, but closely targeted, surveys aimed at 

specific artist occupations. They also concur that continuing research will lead to a 

better understanding of the opportunities and challenges today’s artists experience. 

Because these authors can best highlight the findings of their individual studies, 

their summaries of these findings appear here. It is hoped that by combining these 

findings in one area, both the similarities and differences of employment experiences 

in the four art fields will be apparent. 

Employment and Earnings of Authors 

Neil O. Alper and Gregory H. Wassail researched and wrote the section of this 

report on authors. They found that writing occupations have grown rapidly the last 

two decades, but that writers still constitute a very small fraction of the nation’s labor 

force--in 1990 American authors numbered about 107,000 or just nine in 10,000 

members of the labor force. Alper and Wassail used the broadest definition of 

authors: all persons who indicated occupational membership, regardless of being in 

the labor force at Census time. The researchers compared the employment and 

earnings of authors to all artists, editors and reporters, technical writers, and all 

professional and technical workers other than artists. 

Briefly, here are some of their major findings from U.S. Census data: 
2 I Artists in the Work Force 

 ̄ Education. Authors were found to be well educated, averaging 15.8 years of 

 ̄ 

education in 1990, more than other artists and professional/technical workers. 

Age. Authors averaged 44 years of age, which was four to five years older than 

 ̄ 

reference groups used (other professional workers and all artists). 

Residence. California and New York are home to more authors than other states, 

with the Los Angeles and New York City metropolitan areas claiming the highest 

 ̄ 

percentages of writers in their labor forces. 

Gender and ethnicity. Half of all authors were men in 1990 and 95 percent were 

white. Over the 1970-1990 period the author profession had a lower percentage 

of minorities than artists or other professional/technical workers. It had a higher 

percentage of women than did the artist profession, but a lower percentage than 

 ̄ 

other professional/technical occupations. 

Unemployment. In 1990 only 40 percent of authors worked full time yearround, compared to 46 percent of artists and 56 percent of other professional 

and technical workers who worked full-time. 

 ̄ Employment sector. Compared to the average artist and professional or 

technical workers, authors were far more likely to be self-employed and less likely 

 ̄ 

to work for private sector employers. 

Earnings. In 1989 authors’ total earnings averaged $23,335, less than other 

professional workers, editors and reporters and technical writers, but more than 

other artists. Authors’ total personal income was $30,089 and their average total 

household income, $62,083 (leading all reference groups in household income). 

Between 1969 and 1989, the earnings of authors grew by 175 percent, which 

lagged behind the reference groups and behind inflation. From 1969 through 

1989, a higher percentage of authors had zero or negative earnings, and a higher 

percentage earned over $90,000 than any of the reference groups. 

In 1989 women authors earned only 52 percent of male writers’ earnings. 

Black authors earned 91 percent of white; Hispanics earned 87 percent. 

Several studies of artists from 1979 to 1989 found that 70 to 90 percent of 

authors worked at other jobs during the year, often simultaneously with their writing. 

The majority of second jobs for authors were professional in their nature. Their 

writing-related jobs were primarily teaching. Without income from their second or 

multiple jobs, a majority of authors would be classified as poor. 

Non-Census sources, such as artist surveys and union records, confirm many of 

the Census findings, including the facts that authors are primarily white with an 

average age around 40 and are well-educated compared to the general population. As 

to gender, some of the studies showed an even distribution of males and females, 

some 60 percent female, and union records accounted for only 22 percent female. 

Regarding income, non-Census surveys showed female authors consistently 

earned less than males, with different studies showing a range from about 40 percent 

of male earnings to about 75 percent by 1991. The income of other family members 

was found to be important in aiding writers to work at their craft and to stay well 

above poverty thresholds. 

The Columbia Authors’ Guild study and the Writers’ Guild studies found 

earnings to vary greatly related to the type of writing and the employer. Generally, 
Executive Summary I 3 

poets earned the least from their craft, authors of academically oriented non-fiction 

somewhat more, writers of children’s books and general adult fiction were in the 

middle, and writers of "genre" fiction earned the most. Writers in television earned 

about 3 percent more than film writers in 1991. Those who worked for major TV or 

film production companies earned more than those working for smaller production 

companies, with those working for the major film production companies in 1991 

having median earnings 115 percent higher than writers working for independent 

producers. 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands 

Joan Jeffri and Robert Greenblatt wrote the section of this report which examines 

trends in the visual arts occupations of painters, sculptors, craft artists and artist 

printmakers. Major areas they examined, using Census data and artist population 

surveys, are geographic distribution, age, education, employment and earnings. 

Highlights of their findings appear here. 

Between 1970 and 1990 the total artist population more than doubled, from 

720,000 to 1,671,000. By 1990, painters and craft artists totaled 191,160, or 13 

percent of all artists, the second largest of all artist occupations. Female painters/craft 

artists by 1990 numbered 107,920, or 56 percent. For male painters/craft artists, the 

rate of growth declined from 64 percent in 1970 to 44 percent in 1990. 

While about three-fourths of these artists are urban residents, these percentages 

have declined from 1980. Male painters and craft artists had their highest 

proportions in the West in 1990, while their female counterparts moved South and 

substantially decreased in the Northwest. 

Median ages for male painters/craftspeople were higher at 40 than for all male 

artists at 37 and higher than the general labor force. Female median ages of 39 years 

were higher than for all female artists at 37, but similar to the general labor force. 

Both male and female painters/craftspeople had median ages of 41 in a Research 

Center for Arts and Culture study done at the time. 

The area of education seems to prove the most difficult when comparing Census 

figures to discrete survey figures. According to the Census, education for both male 

and female painters and craft artists is just holding steady at the 4-plus years of 

college level and above, and both years of graduate education and degrees are suspect 

due to changes in the coding procedures of the Census. According to the findings of 

the discrete surveys used here, over 40 percent of the painters/craft artists have 

graduate degrees. 

Self-employment rose for both male and female painters and craft artists from 32 

percent of males and 34 percent of females in 1970 to 47 percent of males and 49 

percent of females in 1990. For females, as self-employment increased, 

unemployment declined, but the definition of self-employment for visual artists is a 

highly complex one. 

Females continued to earn less than males in all sectors between 1970 and 1990, 

even though between 1980 and 1990, the female median income for professionals 

more than doubled to $23,113, and the median income for female painters/craft 
4 I Artists in the Work Force 

artists more than tripled to $22,041. For female professionals who worked 50 to 52 

weeks, median income was $29,181. The median income for full-time female 

painters/craft artists of $18,762 was lower than that of their artist counterparts, 

whose median income was $20,825 in 1990. 

In 1990 authors Jeffri and Greenblatt found that Census data showed a larger 

proportion of women as painters, sculptors, craft artists and artist printmakers, with 

fewer living in urban areas. They had a higher median income than all artists and the 

general labor force, but were closer in median age to professionals. For both males 

and females, the level of education, according to the Census, seemed to be just 

holding steady or rising slightly at the higher levels. More of these artists were selfemployed, with percentages much higher than other kinds of artists. The median 

income for male painters and craft artists grew more slowly than for the total work 

force, male professionals and female painters/craft artists, whose median income 

tripled since 1980. Finally, it appeared to the authors that part-year female 

painters/craft artists earned more than their full-year counterparts. 

The discrete surveys Jeffri and Greenblatt studied offered another view, one 

which targets the artist population more narrowly than the Census, and which 

suggests additional ways of looking at how artists view their occupations. These 

surveys also identify other areas of inquiry that broaden the picture of the artist in 

society. Neither the Census nor the discrete surveys purport to provide a longitudinal 

data base, a problem which the authors felt the National Endowment for the Arts 

should perhaps try to address for artists in the future. Finally, the authors concluded 

that research indicates the need for a regular survey of artists, if possible, by the NEA, 

which combines the more relevant aspects of the Census with other areas of inquiry, 

some of which they have identified in their report. 

Performing Artists 

Ann O. Kay and Stephyn G. W. Butcher found that the performing arts have 

become an increasingly important part of American life in recent decades, at least as 

measured by their growing presence. Between 1965 and 1992, the number of 

professional dance companies in this country leaped from 37 to more than 250, and 

their audience from 1 million to over 16 million. Professional nonprofit theatres 

expanded dramatically, with 1992’s count of more than 400 theatres representing 

over seven times the number of theatres in 1965. Although Broadway and road shows 

employ proportionately fewer professional actors, resident theatres and other forms 

of professional theatres are expanding. As a percentage of total gross national 

product, the motion picture industry grew by one-third between 1969 and 1989, 

amusement and recreation services grew by half, and radio and television 

broadcasting increased by half. Meanwhile, the number of professional orchestras 

doubled, and opera companies grew fourfold since the mid-1960s. 

From 1970 to 1990, performing artists as a group grew 50 percent faster than 

the national labor force and slightly faster than other professional occupations. The 

dancers and actors-directors occupations were among the fastest growing of all arts 
Executive Summary I 5 

occupations. By contrast, numbers for musicians-composers leveled off during the 

1980s. 

Union survey data have shown musicians are more likely than other performers 

to rely on income from jobs outside their arts profession. In 1980 only 26 percent of 

musicians received all of their income from performing arts work, as against 32 

percent of actors and 62 percent of dancers. 

Throughout the last two decades many performing artists could not find work 

in their profession. In 1990 when the national unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, 

the rate for actors and directors was 13 percent; for dancers, 7 percent, and for 

musicians and composers, 6 percent. During the 1970-90 period, performers’ 

unemployment rates consistently exceeded the national average, but each performing 

arts occupation experienced its own unemployment trends. The rate for musicians 

and composers rose and fell over the 1970-90 period, mirroring the national 

unemployment trends. For actors and directors, unemployment held at 

approximately twice the national rate in 1980 and 1990. For dancers, however, 

unemployment moved down from nearly three times the national rate in 1970 to 

within two points of the national rate in 1990. 

Though musicians and composers had somewhat lower rates of unemployment 

than other performers, those who were unemployed during 1990 were out of work 

longer than other performing artists. About one out of eight unemployed musicians 

and composers had been without a job for two to five years in 1990, about three 

times the rate for actors and directors and twice the rate for dancers. For all 

performing artists, though, long term unemployment continued to hamper the full 

utilization of this segment of the work force. 

Survey findings from 1980 suggest that the labor reserve is further increased by 

the discouraged worker phenomenon; that is, by performing artists who leave the 

labor force because they believe no jobs are available. At least 5 percent of actors and 

musicians fit this category that year, with fewer dancers doing so. 

Performers cycle more often between employment and unemployment than 

other workers. More than three out of five actors who had any unemployment in 

1980 were out of work three or more periods, as were more than one out of two 

musicians and nearly one in three dancers. 

Dancers were the performers least likely to work a full year. For those who 

worked anytime in 1989, their median number of weeks worked was 39, compared 

to 50 weeks for actors and directors and 48 for musicians and composers. The latter 

were most likely to report self-employment. 

The principal industry employing performing artists continued to be the 

"theatres and motion pictures" industry, although during the 1980s the number of 

musicians in this industry declined. The industry in which actors showed the greatest 

growth (a 50-fold jump) during these two decades was in "radio and television 

broadcasting and cable." 

Performers as a group increased their income levels over the 1970-90 period, but 

the gains were not equally shared. Actors and directors’ median earnings in 1989 were 

$22,000 according to Census data, up from about $12,600 ten years earlier. Census 
6 I Artists in the Work Force 

data also showed one-fourth of actors-directors earning less than $10,000 in 1989. In 

contrast, union pension records, which look only at earnings in the acting profession, 

showed nearly nine out often actors receiving less than $10,000 in 1990. This suggests 

the large extent to which actors must supplement their arts income with outside jobs. 

Dancers! earnings tended to be the lowest in the performing arts. Although their 

median earnings grew from about $5,400 to $8,500 between 1979 and 1989, nearly 

a third of dancers earned less than $5,000 in 1989. Their earnings did not keep up 

with inflation during the 1980s. Meanwhile, musicians and composers saw their 

median earnings rise from $5,600 to $9,900 between 1979 and 1989, and the 

proportion earning less than $10,000 dropped by nearly a third. 

Personal earnings levels from acting were extremely volatile, as union pension 

data show. One out of five actors who had paid work in their profession in 1990 did 

not have any acting income two years later. Half of those who had earnings received 

less than they did two years before. A few went from zero to $60,000 or more in two 

years. 

Earnings levels depended in part on the type of work performers did. Television 

work paid better for the members of one actors union, while theatrical engagements 

were most rewarding for union musicians. 

Performing artists tended to cluster in the West and Northeast regions of the U. 

S., particularly in the New York and Los Angeles areas. Although they lived there to 

be close to the historic centers of performing arts employment, these areas also had 

the highest rates of unemployment for performers. As the number of performers grew 

during the last two decades, so did their geographic distribution. The relative increase 

in the performing artist work force in the South has been a significant geographic 

trend in these 20 years. 

Architecture and Design Arts Occupations 

Harry Hillman Chartrand examined trends in architecture and design 

occupations for 1970-1990. His findings are summarized here. 

First, architecture and design occupations grew significantly over the two decades 

covered by this report, representing 0.6 percent of the experienced labor force, 4.6 

percent of all professional specialty workers and 45.2 percent of the arts labor force 

in 1990. 

Second, architects, decorators and designers 25 to 44 years of age dominate their 

professions, accounting for more than 60 percent of those in the fields. 

Third, both architecture and design were predominantly white professions (90.5 

percent for both) in 1990. However, Hispanics grew from 1.8 percent of all architects 

in 1970 to 5.1 percent in 1990. During the same period, Afro-American architects 

increased from 2.4 percent of all architects to 2.8 percent and non-white and nonblack architects, largely Asians, grew from 3 percent to 6.7 percent between 1970 

and 1990. 

Among decorators and designers, Hispanics grew from 2.9 percent of the 

profession In 1970 to 5.4 percent in 1990. Afro-Americans grew from 1.9 percent 
Executive Summary I 7 

in 1970 to 3.6 percent in 1990. Non-white and non-black decorators and designers 

grew from 2.1 percent in 1970 to 6.2 percent in 1990. 

Fourth, by 1990 over half of all architects, designers and decorators lived in the 

South or West, with each of these regions home to approximately one-quarter of the 

groups. The Northeast and Midwest have lost their historic dominance of these 

professions. 

Fifth, while architecture remained a predominantly male profession in 1990, 

women architects represented 17.7 percent of all architects then. By contrast, women 

decorators represented 73.3 percent and designers 43.5 percent in their fields in 

1990. 

Sixth, among architects, those with four or more years of college were 80.2 

percent of the profession in 1990, increasing from 73.3 percent in 1970. Among all 

decorators and designers, 35.8 percent had four or more years of college in 1990, 

increasing from 21.6 percent in 1970. 

Seventh, in 1970 self-employed architects represented 36.7 percent of the 

profession. Self-employment decreased to 32.8 percent by 1990. Meanwhile, selfemployment among all decorators and designers increased from 15.9 percent in 1970 

to 24.6 percent in 1990. Among architects, 25 percent worked part-time in 1990, 

compared to 42.8 percent of decorators and designers. The high level of part-timers 

among decorators and designers reflects a majority of women in these professions. 

Over 75 percent of architects worked in professional services industries, i.e., in 

architectural firms. Over 75 percent of decorators and designers worked in 

manufacturing, retail trade or business and repairs service industries. 

Eighth, in 1987 there were nearly 18,000 architectural establishments with 

receipts of almost $10 billion and 137,000 paid employees. Over 70 percent of 

receipts came from projects involving commercial buildings or public and 

institutional facilities. Nearly 78 percent of receipts were for architectural services 

excluding landscape architecture and 75 percent of receipts were from industrial, 

business, and commercial companies, government and private institutions. 

In 1987 there were 7,202 graphic arts establishments with receipts of $3.2 

billion. The Northeast accounted for 34 percent of receipts; the South, 17.5 percent; 

the Midwest, 25.5 percent and the West, 22.7 percent. 

Ninth, the median annual household income of architects in 1989 was $56,773, 

which was 140 percent of the labor force average, 109 percent of the typical 

professional specialty worker and 128 percent of the typical artist. The median 

annual income of a decorator and designer was $45,873, or 113 percent of the labor 

force average, 88.2 percent of the typical professional specialty worker and 103 

percent of the typical artist. 
Introduction 

To understand how artists fared in the work force from 1970 to 1990 it is useful 

to contrast their employment experiences with those of other professionals with 

comparable education and training. This introduction will attempt to do this, 

identifying the labor force terms which appear throughout the four sections of this 

report and the areas of common ground covered by the various authors. It synthesizes 

to some extent key points from the sections which pertain to the overall report-­

points which individual authors explored thoroughly and which will be extracted to 

this section. 

Any study of persons in the labor force must naturally define exactly who is to 

be included. For purposes of their analyses, the authors generally refer to the labor 

groups defined below. They also discuss in their individual sections various aspects of 

these groups as they relate most directly to the specific art fields being discussed. 

 ̄ The civilian labor farce includes all persons 16 years and older who are currently 

working (the employed), plus those not working but looking for work (the 

unemployed). Persons currently not working and not looking for work are 

described as out of the labor force. Working persons in the military are obviously 

excluded, also. 

 ̄	 The experienced civilian labor farce (ECLF) consists of all employed and 

unemployed persons with recent civilian work experience (again excluding those 

in the military). This more narrowly defined term has been used in recent studies 

of artists commissioned by the NEA and will often appear in this report. 

 ̄ Professional specialty workers (PSW) includes artists, athletes, astronomers, 

dentists, engineers, lawyers, miners, nurses, physicians, physicists, optometrists, 

reporters, social workers, among others. 

 ̄ All artists include actors and directors, announcers, architects, authors, dancers, 

designers, musicians and composers, painters, sculptors, craft-artists and artist 

printmakers, photographers, teachers of art, drama and music in higher 

education, and also artists and related workers not elsewhere classified. 

Growth Rates in the Labor Force, 1970-1990 

The experienced civilian labor force numbered 79,801,605 according to the 

1970 U.S. Census of Population and Housing. About one in 100 of those, or 

736,960, were artists. By 1980, the experienced labor force had increased by 30.4 

percent to 104,057,985. Authors Ann Kay and Stephyn Butcher attribute this high 

growth rate to a continuing move into the labor force by the baby boom generation 

and an increased participation of women in the labor force. The number of artists 

jumped also, growing an average of 4.0 percent per year from 1970 to 1980, or 47.3 

percent over the decade. This boom in artists’ numbers occurred for the same reasons 

as the national labor force, plus a trend toward the increasing importance of 
Introduction I 9 

professional specialty occupations and the service sector in the U.S. economy--a 

trend that continued in the 1980s. 

By 1990, the experienced labor force had grown to 122,473,499 and the artist 

labor force to 1,671,277 (see Tables 1 and 2 in the Performing Artists section). 

Professional specialty occupations also grew dramatically over the 1970-90 period, 

increasing from 8,800,210 workers in 1970 to 12,275,140 in 1980 and to 

16,647,688 in 1990. The growth rate among artists during the 1980s exceeded that 

of the ECLF and PSW. 

The U.S. labor force during the 1970 to 1990 period became better educated, 

more ethnically diverse and comprised of a higher percentage of women. Other 

general demographic trends among all the occupational groups discussed in this 

report include lower rates of marriage and household formation and a decline in the 

percentage of veterans. 

How the Census Classifies Artists 

The authors of the report explained that all of the employment and earnings 

information available from the Census flows from the occupation in which the 

worker was classified. The work history (labor force status, weekly hours, weeks 

worked, income) becomes attached to that occupation. 

The Census asks six basic questions about current or most recent job activity 

with instructions to describe the person’s "chief job activity or business last week." 

Respondents who had more than one job were instructed to describe the one at 

which they worked the most hours. If they had no job last week, they should refer to 

their last job or business since 1985. 

The six questions center on: 

 ̄ Industry or Employer--employer, kind of business 

 ̄ Occupation--kind of work, most important activities 

 ̄ Organizational Sector--private nonprofit, government, self-employed, working 

without pay. 

The basic way artists (and others) get fitted into a category is by answering the 

requisite six questions, and Census bureau employees deciding into which category 

they fit based on a classification listing. 

Several authors pointed out concerns over using Census data to analyze labor 

market outcomes of artists revolve around the manner in which occupations are 

defined. A person’s choice of occupation is determined by his or her response to a 

request for information on work activity "last week." Further, occupation is selfdefined; i.e., the respondent names the occupation, rather than picks the best 

available choice from a list. The Census then assigns the respondent’s self-defined 

occupation to an existing classification (or creates a new one if warranted). Thus an 

occupational classification consists of a number of individual but related 

occupations. 
10 I Artists in the Work Force 

The Census procedure forces the respondent to select one occupation only. 

Those who worked at more than one job during the reference week are required to 

choose only one--that at which the most time was spent during the week. 

Authors Neil Alper and Gregory Wassail state that the use of Census data to 

analyze labor supply, incomes and other labor market characteristics of artists has 

been challenged by some social scientists with two principal criticisms: (1) that the 

Census defines the term "artist" too broadly, and (2) that the Census mis-classifies or 

ignores some artists because of frequent multiple job-holding in most artistic 

occupations. 

The Census does not actually define the term "artist." Rather, the 1980 and 1990 

Census creates six broad occupational classifications including one called 

"Managerial and Professional Specialty Occupations" that contains all 11 Census 

artist occupations. The 11 categories are the product of the NEA, and are based on 

which occupations have traditionally comprised its artistic constituency. They are: (1) 

actors and directors, (2) announcers, (3) authors, (4) dancers, (5) designers, (6) 

musicians and composers, (7) painters, sculptors, craft-artists and artist printmakers, 

(8) photographers, (9) artists, performers, and related workers, not elsewhere 

classified, (10) architects (found under the category "Engineers, Architects, and 

Surveyors"), and (11) college and university art, drama, and music teachers (found 

under "Teachers, Postsecondary.") 

While some of the 11 categories may indeed be too broad (the artists not 

elsewhere classified category and dancers), others such as architects and radio and 

television announcer categories are sufficiently narrow. 

A second limitation in using Census data discussed by several authors lies in its 

treatment of multiple job-holding. The Census questions force a respondent to 

choose only one occupation and the respondent’s labor market experiences for the 

previous calendar year are then attributed to that occupation. While this procedure 

is reasonable for most workers, who largely hold only one job, for artists it does not 

produce an accurate picture of work hours, earnings and other aspects of labor 

market behavior due to their extensive multiple job-holding. 

Alper and Wassail present a case for using a more expansive definition of the 

work force in analyzing the labor market experiences of authors, and artists in 

general. Compared to members of most other professional occupations, artists are 

more often marginalized in the labor market. They often moonlight to make ends 

meet. In addition, career paths in the arts are rarely well defined. Young persons with 

artistic skills and training often find it hard to start an artistic career, either in terms 

of obtaining employment or in finding buyers for their work. Such artists would be 

excluded from the experienced civilian labor force, since they would be classified as 

being unemployed with no prior work experience, or out of the labor force. Other 

artists may be working on their art but unable to sell it, while being supported by a 

spouse or others. It is not obvious how they would describe themselves in the Census 

questionnaire, but they may also wind up classified as out of the labor force. 

Such considerations are particularly relevant to artists struggling to join the artist 

labor force initially, to stay employed in it and to support themselves, with or without 
Introduction I 11 

holding multiple jobs. Compared to the general labor force where only 6.2 percent 

worked in two or more occupations in 1989, a large percentage of artists have to 

moonlight to survive. 

Strengths and Limitations of Census Data 

Several of the authors of this report summarized the strengths of Census and 

other government research data on artist occupations: 

 ̄ Data are consistent with and directly compatible with other occupations. 

Their use permits the drawing of comparisons among occupations. 

 ̄ Data are collected at regular intervals permitting trend analysis and the drawing 

of comparisons over time. 

 ̄ Large sample sizes lead to a comprehensive data base permitting detailed analysis. 

 ̄ A broad picture displays central tendencies of the artist population. 

 ̄ The data provide an answer to the question, "How many artists?"--a question 

often used by policy makers, funders and arts groups, particularly in times of 

scarce resources. 

Census data report the overall labor market activities of artists. However, Census 

data sources have some limitations: 

 ̄ The system of classification. Data are about primary occupation, i.e., where one 

works the most hours. Therefore, artists who work more time in jobs other than their 

art occupation are not classified as artists. Also, the Census classification system will 

make some artists appear more successful in their craft than they really are. 

 ̄ Data are of limited usefulness in addressing questions specific to specialized artist 

groups. 

 ̄ Data do not reflect certain labor market conditions for artists, i.e., artists who 

work at a different jobs simultaneously, or in more than one art form, or those 

for whom art making is only one of several careers. Thus data are unable to 

account for employment and earnings in secondary/multiple jobs which artists 

often have and which affect their economic welfare to the extent at times of 

keeping them above the poverty level. 

Strengths and Limitations of Non-Census Data 

Each section of this report supplements Census data with information obtained 

from direct surveys of general and specific artist groups, and from professional 

organizations and industry records. While the Census is more comprehensive, these 

surveys are more detailed. Authors Joan Jeffri and Robert Greenblatt point out that 

some discrete surveys are also more attitudinally based than the Census, which some 

economists are beginning to acknowledge as important when studying economic 
12 I Artists in the Work Force 

data on artists. Thus these other data have the indirect result of providing a forum 

for artists to advocate for themselves, plus indicating areas for further research. 

Surveys analyzed in this report include studies based on general surveys of artists 

where a broad range of artistic occupations is targeted and the information collected 

is relevant to all artists. Also included are studies based on specialized surveys of a 

single artistic occupation. A third source of data is information provided by artists to 

a professional organization or union. 

Harry Chartrand and other authors of this report summarized some of the 

advantages of these non-Census data sources: 

 ̄ Data are on those generally accepted as "professional" in their field. 

 ̄ Data are useful in addressing questions specific to such professionals.

 ̄ They provide valuable reference information since they offer comparable data for 

similar occupations. 

 ̄ Questions geared to particular occupational groups yield answers that are more 

illustrative of the labor market experiences of that group. Chartrand and others 

also point out these disadvantages of non-Census data: 

 ̄ Data are not necessarily compatible with other occupations. 

 ̄ Data are not necessarily collected on a regular basis, limiting trend analysis.

 ̄ Surveys aimed at general artist groups may not truly represent the population of 

artists and are not likely to be as statistically reliable. 

 ̄ Regarding use of union records, it is difficult to generalize the results to the artist 

labor force in general. 

Comparing data from Census and non-Census sources cannot help but present 

a more complete portrait of artists in the labor force. Figures and percentages from 

such different data bases will not always agree, but despite these differences, each of 

the various data sources provides a unique view or insight into the conditions 

affecting the employment and earnings of artists. 

The labor market for artists toward the close of the 20th century is challenging 

for those risk-loving individuals who balance "making it big" in the art world against 

perhaps not making it at all. The employment answer for many artists appears to be 

supplementing their volatile earnings in art endeavors with more predictable earnings 

from secondary jobs such as teaching. 

Continuing research by the National Endowment for the Arts and others will 

further illuminate market conditions for those artists who--more than any other 

workers--shape today’s culture. 

NOTE: The following reports have been condensed from full-length statistical 

studies. The authors’ original comprehensive documents are available in the 

Educational Research Information Center (ERIC) system. They may be accessed by 

use of these ERIC numbers for Chapters I, II, & III in the order of the chapters: 

ERIC #ED385856, ERIC # ED390728 and ERIC # ED390727. Chapter IV may 

be accessed by use of its full original title: Architecture and Design Arts Occupations 

1940 to 1990. 
I. The Write Stuff: 

Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 

to 1990 

by Neil O. Alper and Gregory H. Wassail 

Overview 

Successful authors are frequently in the news. Winners of the major prizes for

writing receive extensive press coverage. Best selling authors make public 

appearances on television, at book signings and readings in book stores. Those 

authors, including television and film scriptwriters, fortunate enough to command 

top money, are especially newsworthy. One example reported in the Los Angeles 

Times is the $18.9 million paid author Dean Koontz by publisher Alfred A. Knopf 

for a three-book contract. Two film scripts that sold for $4 million apiece also raised 

some eyebrows. Given the media interest and public attention that prominent writers 

enjoy, surprisingly little statistical information about them reaches social scientists, 

policy analysts, policy makers or writers themselves. 

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) commissioned this report as part 

of its research on employment and earnings of artists in the labor force. The NEA 

supports research on the artist work force in general and also shows a special interest 

in writers through its Literature Program which has aided writers with fellowships 

and other means. 

This report surveys and synthesizes current knowledge on the employment and 

earnings of authors between 1970 and 1990, compiling and comparing statistics on 

how they go about making a living, including second occupations, and how 

successful their efforts are. The information comes largely from the U.S. Census and 

other government censuses, surveys of authors and from records of writers’ unions 

and professional organizations. It is hoped that by consolidating information from 

diverse sources some sense may be made of the writing profession. In comparing 

statistics among surveys and censuses, the diversity in definitions, sampling 

procedures and sample sizes should be noted. 

The U.S. Census, listing about 107,000 American authors, is the most 

comprehensive source of information about them in the country. As mentioned in 

the general introduction to this report, it affords several advantages in studying the 

labor market experiences of artists, and also has some shortcomings. Because the 

Census requires every worker to declare only one occupation, all work experiences 

and earnings in a given year are attributed to that occupation. For authors and many 

other artists, this leads to an overstatement of earnings from their craft, because direct 

surveys have turned up significant percentages working in other occupations in a 

given year. 

13 
14 I Artists in the Work Force 

Sources of information about authors which deal with multiple-job holding 

among occupations include the annual Current Population Survey. Surveys 

specifically aimed at writers give more detail about personal characteristics, working 

conditions and earnings. Records of authors’ unions and professional organizations 

offer little personal information, and often provide data only on sources of income 

through union recognized activity. 

The author profession as treated in this work embraces poetry, fiction and 

creative nonfiction, in English or in translation. Census statistics used here, unless 

otherwise noted, are drawn from the broadest definition of authors and related 

professionals: all persons who indicated occupational membership, regardless of 

whether they were in the labor force at the time of the Census. In 1990, 14 percent 

or authors indicated occupational affiliation, despite not being members of the labor 

force (neither working nor actively seeking work). 

Profile of American Authors 

The author occupation is growing rapidly. Between 1970 and 1990 their 

numbers increased by 285 percent, with half of this phenomenal growth occurring 

between 1985 and 1990. Nevertheless, authors still constitute a very small fraction 

of the nation’s labor force, or nine in 10,000 in 1990. 

Relative to the entire labor force, authors are concentrated in states along the 

Atlantic and Pacific coasts, although this concentration lessened somewhat from 

1970 to 1990. California and New York are home to more authors than other states 

and have the highest percentage of authors in their labor force. The Los Angeles and 

New York City metropolitan areas have the highest percentages of authors in their 

labor forces, and the greatest number of authors, of any metropolitan areas in the 

country. 

Members of the author profession are well educated. In 1990 they averaged 15.8 

years of education, more than other artists and other professional and technical 

workers. They are also older; their average age of 44 years exceeded that of artists by 

five years and that of other professional and technical workers by four years. In 1990 

half of all authors were men and 95 percent were white. These percentages were 

higher than those of other professional and technical workers. Over the 1970 to 1990 

period the author profession had a lower percentage of minorities than artists or other 

professional and technical occupations. It contained more women than did the artist 

profession, but fewer than did the other reference groups. 

Authors had higher rates of unemployment than other professional and technical 

workers, but lower rates than other artists. In 1990 only 40 percent of authors 

worked full-time year-round (working at least 35 hours per week and 50 weeks per 

year). By comparison, 46 percent of artists and 56 percent of other professional and 

technical workers worked full-time. 

Compared to the average artist and professional/technical worker, authors were 

far more likely to be self-employed, and less likely to work for private sector 

employers. Therefore, authors received a higher percentage of their earnings from 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 15 

self-employment, although these earnings still were typically less than half of authors’ 

total earnings. In 1989 authors’ total earnings were $23,335. (Earnings and income 

data are annual averages, and refer to the year prior to the Census.) In both 1979 and 

1989 authors earned less than other professional and technical workers, and less than 

editors, reporters and technical writers. In 1969 and 1989 they earned more than 

other artists. 

Because authors worked fewer hours per year than members of the other 

reference occupations, their computed hourly wage is higher than that of the other 

reference groups in all three Census years. Census data also show that authors’ total 

personal incomes are higher than those of all artists, but lower (except in 1969) than 

those of other professional and technical workers. The average total personal income 

of authors in 1989 was $30,089, while their average total household income was 

$62,083. 

Between 1969 and 1989 the earnings of authors grew by 175 percent. However, 

this earnings growth lagged behind that of the other reference occupations, and 

behind changes in the Consumer Price Index. In constant 1969 dollars, the real 

earnings of authors fell by $1,567. The earnings of other reference groups, except for 

the professional and technical workers, also fell over this period. 

Similar trends were found in total personal income. Between 1969 and 1989 real 

personal income of authors fell by $924. Real personal incomes of the reference 

groups fell also, except for other professional/technical workers. Authors’ household 

income, however, outpaced inflation, rising by $2,370. All reference occupations 

showed increases in real household income, resulting primarily from the rising labor 

force participation of women over this period. 

One interesting characteristic of authors’ earnings is their relative inequality. In 

1989 more authors had zero or negative earnings, and more earned over $90,000 

than any of the reference groups. Essentially the same earnings distribution, relative 

to the other occupations, was found in 1979 and 1969. 

The same array of statistics was examined for authors in the experienced civilian 

labor force, and for authors who worked full-time year round. Authors in the 

experienced civilian labor force earned $25,800 in 1989, or $2,465 more than all 

Census authors (i.e., including authors out of the labor force in 1990). Other 

occupations, when limited to labor force members, experienced comparable earnings 

increases. Personal and household income rankings did not change either. The 

average personal income of authors in the experienced civilian labor force in 1989 

was $31,788; their average household income was $63,019. 

Comparing only authors and members of other professions who work full-time 

year-round minimizes earnings differences caused solely by different amounts of time 

worked per year. Authors, as mentioned, worked fewer hours per year. As a result, the 

annual earnings of full-time authors compare more favorably to their counterparts in 

other occupations. For example, in 1989 full-time authors’ earnings of $35,896 

placed them above artists, editors, reporters and technical writers, and below only 

other professional and technical workers. 
16 I Artists in the Work Force 

Differences in earnings and income by gender, race and ethnicity were also 

examined. Given the small size of the author profession and the relatively small 

percentage of minorities working as authors, racial and ethnic comparisons were 

made only among white, black and Hispanic authors. In all three Census years, 

significant disparities between the average earnings of men and women authors were 

found. The earnings disparity narrowed between 1969 and 1989, but still remained 

significant. In 1989 women’s earnings were only 52 percent of men’s. Differences in 

median earnings and wages were smaller, indicating more men were concentrated in 

the high earnings and hourly wage region. Gender differences in personal and household incomes were smaller. In fact, women authors had higher household income. 

Differences in earnings among white, black and Hispanic authors were smaller. 

In 1989 black authors’ earnings were 91 percent of white authors earnings, and 

Hispanic authors’ earnings were 87 percent. Greater disparities appeared in personal 

income and household income between white and minority authors. The ratio of 

black to white authors’ personal income was 85 percent, and the ratio of Hispanic to 

white authors’ personal income was 80 percent. 

Evidence on Authors’ Multiple Job Holding 

The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, even with its small sample size, 

consistently found high multiple job holding rates for authors and artists. From the 

mido1980s to the early 1990s moonlighting rates for authors exceeded all other 

professional workers. In 1991 the rate for authors was double that of all artists, 

almost three times that of all other professionals and almost four times the rate of the 

total work force. 

Evidence from non-census surveys of authors, or artists including authors, 

confirms that writers’ labor market behavior in a given year involves working at more 

than one job. AlperoWassall’s survey of New England artists, undertaken in 1981-82, 

found that only one in five authors worked full time at writing, and the majority 

worked in a job related to their writing some time during the year, primarily 

teaching. Additionally, 45 percent held jobs unrelated to their writing. The evidence 

shows several of these work activities were done simultaneously. 

Columbia University’s Research Center for Arts and Culture survey undertaken 

in 1989 found that 90 percent of the writers needed to work at some non-writing job 

to support their writing, and that almost half were multiple job holders at the time 

they were surveyed. Similar behavior was identified in the Columbia Survey of 

American Authors done for the Authors’ Guild in 1979. It found that 70 percent of 

authors had earnings from non-writing work, and that almost half held regular 

salaried positions not as writers. Like the other studies, it found that the majority (90 

percent) of those who had second jobs held professional jobs, not the traditional 

service or clerical jobs of the stereotypical "starving artist." 

Surveys of authors in other countries suggest that multiple job holding for 

writers is not a uniquely U.S. phenomenon. A study of the members of the British 

Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild found that only 17 percent of authors 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 17 

worked only as writers, and that 67 percent of those surveyed identified writing as a 

secondary occupation. A French study found that 30 percent of the authors worked 

at another trade during the survey year, and that 70 percent had done so at some time 

during their writing career. In Finland, only 22 percent of the authors indicated that 

they were full-time writers, and fully half indicated a non-writing occupation for tax 

purposes. 

The importance of authors’ moonlighting activity is best determined by 

examining its impact on their economic well-being. Alper-Wassall found that twothirds of the authors’ labor market earnings and almost 60 percent of their total 

income comes from working in a non-writing job. The Columbia Research Center’s 

study data suggests that non-writing income, labor and non-labor income combined 

account for almost 80 percent of total writers’ income. Columbia’s study for the 

Authors’ Guild reported that median writing income comprised 33 percent of 

median total personal income, and for the group most dedicated to writing--the 

"committed full-timers"--writing income was only 77 percent of total income. 

Without their other jobs that are often held concurrently with their writing work, 

clearly the economic well-being of authors would be much worse, and most writers 

would be classified as poor. 

Evidence on Authors from Non-Census Sources 

The value of non-census surveys goes beyond their ability to examine the rather 

unique labor market behavior of authors and other artists. Following is a summary 

of additional findings from the three surveys already discussed and three studies 

utilizing the administrative records of the Writers’ Guild of America, west, a union 

for writers in the television, radio and film industries. 

Demographic characteristics of authors follow a generally consistent pattern 

across all the studies. Authors are primarily white with an average age around 40 

years. The proportion of non-white seems to be increasing. The two earliest studies 

(Columbia’s Authors’ Guild and Alper-Wassall) found approximately 3 percent nonwhite authors. The later survey (Columbia’s Research Center) found almost 10 

percent non-white, and the union’s administrative records showed almost double the 

number of minority members from 1986 to 1991. 

The gender composition of the profession appears to be changing as well. The 

earliest study found 60 percent of the authors were female. Alper-Wassall found an 

even distribution, and the latest survey (Columbia’s Research Center) found 60 

percent female writers. The union’s administrative records suggest an increase in 

female writers employed from 1982, but they accounted for only 22 percent of 

employed writers in 1991. 

Writers, like their artistic colleagues, are very well-educated compared with the 

general population--a consistent finding for all the surveys. Alper-Wassall found 

they were better educated than both performers and visual artists. They were also 

found, by both Alper-Wassall and Columbia’s Research Center, to have started their 

training to be writers about age 16, which is considerably older than performers, but 

about the same as visual artists. 
18 I Artists in the Work Force 

Two of the surveys, Columbia’s Authors’ Guild study and Alper-Wassall, found 

the income of other family members to be important in explaining the ability of 

writers to work at their craft, and that family income for the writers was well above 

the poverty thresholds at the time of the surveys. 

An additional impact on writers’ economic well-being is the cost they incur to 

write. Alper-Wassall found that writing earnings net of costs averaged half of the 

writing earnings, and that median writing earnings net of costs were negative. 

Columbia’s Research Center’s findings were similar, showing that only about 43 

percent of the authors had writing income that exceeded their costs. 

Female authors were found to consistently earn less than male authors. 

Columbia’s Authors’ Guild study showed female authors’ median earnings from 

writing to be 77 percent of the male median. This was a considerably smaller 

difference than the Alper-Wassall finding where female authors’ average earnings 

from their writing were only 20 percent of their male colleagues’ earnings. When 

adjustments were made for the fact that women spent much less time writing during 

the year, Alper-Wassall’s estimated differential for hourly wage was that women 

writers earned about 40 percent of male earnings. The three Writers’ Guild studies 

identified differentials more in line with the Authors’ Guild study, and found the 

earnings to fluctuate over time. In 1982 median female earnings were 73 percent of 

male earnings. In 1986 they were about 60 percent of male earnings and in 1991 they 

were about 75 percent of male earnings. 

Considerable differences exist in earnings related to the type of writing the 

author does and for whom they work, according to findings by the Columbia’s 

Authors’ Guild study and the Writers’ Guild studies. The Authors’ Guild study found 

that poets earn the least from their writing, authors of academically oriented 

nonfiction were slightly better off, children’s books writers and writers of general 

adult fiction were in the middle, and writers of "genre" fiction earned the most. The 

Writers’ Guild studies found that writers in television tended to earn more than 

writers in film, but the difference narrowed over the decade of the studies to a 

difference of only 3 percent in 1991. Greater disparities were found in earnings based 

on the type of firm the writer worked for, regardless of whether it was in television 

or film. Writers who worked for the major television or film production companies 

earned considerably more. In 1991, for example, writers working for the major film 

producers had median earnings 115 percent higher than their colleagues working for 

the smaller independent film producers. 

Authors in the U. S. Census, 1970 to 1990 

This section presents and analyzes evidence on the employment, earnings, labor 

market and other related characteristics of authors using information in the 1970, 

1980 and 1990 U. S. Census. The evidence is presented separately for men, women, 

white, black and Hispanic authors. It compares authors to all artists, using the 

definition of artist employed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Included in 

the Census definition are: (1) actors and directors, (2) announcers, (3) authors, (4) 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 19 

dancers, (5) designers, (6) musicians and composers, (7) painters, sculptors, 

craft-artists and artist printmakers, (8) photographers, and (9) artists, performers and 

related workers, not elsewhere classified. The following Census occupations have 

been added by the NEA: (10) architects, and (11) college and university art, drama 

and music teachers. Secondly, authors are compared to all professional and technical 

workers, excluding artists, and members of several other occupations, including two 

with similar characteristics to authors: editors and reporters, and technical writers. 

Census Data Used to Analyze Authors’ Work Experiences 

Most of the information reported on in this section is derived from the 1970, 

1980 and 1990 Census Public Use Microdata Samples (often simply called PUMS). 

Each contains a sample of the responses from households who completed the Census 

long form questionnaire. A minority of households are asked to complete the long 

form, approximately 16 percent of all households in the 1990 Census. The 1990 long 

form contained 26 housing questions and 33 personal questions. 

The PUMS is unique in that the unit of observation is the household and person 

record. Because information about individuals is revealed, several steps are taken to 

insure anonymity, including less detail about geographic location than is available in 

other Census releases which use aggregated data, typically over geographical areas. 

Since the inception of PUMS in 1940, the Census Bureau has extracted different 

sized samples for researchers to work with, determined somewhat by the ability of 

existing computer systems to store and process the data. In 1980 and 1990, a basic 

five percent sample and a supplemental one percent sample were drawn. The 

supplemental samples are focused on different geographic information (states, county 

groups and neighborhoods), or different segments, such as the elderly population. Or 

in 1990, for example, the supplemental one percent sample, like the five percent 

sample, was based on a random selection of respondents who completed the long 

form questionnaire. 

The principal advantages of using Census Public Use Microdata are noted here. 

First, the Census sampling and information collection and tabulation procedures are 

very sophisticated; information gained in the PUMS can be generalized to the entire 

population with relatively small margins of error. Second, samples are large, 

permitting analyses of small occupations such as artists, and within that category, 

authors, for example. Third, vast information is obtained from the Census due to the 

wide variety of questions asked on the long form. Fourth, the Census provides 

consistent observations on a large sample of the population every ten years, enabling 

many types of comparisons over time. 

Issues in Using Census Data to Analyze Authors’ Labor Force 

Controversies over the use of Census data to analyze labor market outcomes of 

artists are discussed in the general introduction to this report, so only those 

particularly relevant to authors will be treated here. 
20 I Artists in the Work Force 

Respondents to the 1990 long form questionnaire were asked to describe their 

chief job activity or business the prior week. If this person had more than one job, 

the job at which the most hours were worked was to be listed. 

Suppose that people who call themselves authors hold non-writing jobs as well 

in a calendar year. By attributing all time spent working and all earnings for an entire 

year to the author occupation, the Census overestimates the importance of that 

occupation in a person’s total work effort and earnings. 

The Census tally of the number of authors would seem to be accurate, since only 

those for whom writing is their principal work declare themselves as authors. Those 

devoting more time and effort to other occupations declare themselves as members 

of those occupations. Of course, many persons with little or no earnings from their 

art nevertheless consider themselves to be artists. If authors moonlight, then the time 

spent working, the earnings and other attributes of labor market behavior are 

overstated for the author profession. The evidence suggests that multiple job-holding 

is common among authors and several other artist occupations to a greater extent 

than in most non-artist occupations. Direct studies of authors and other artists 

discussed later verify that a significant percentage of moonlighting authors’ (artists’) 

work time and earnings are from jobs outside their artistic profession. In defense of 

the Census methodology, it’s worth noting that such direct surveys elicit responses 

from persons who may devote only a small fraction of their work time to their art 

and would appear in the Census Public Use Sample as members of other occupations. 

To summarize: The Census classification system will make authors and several 

other types of artists appear to be more successful in their chasen accuioatian than they 

actually are. Despite this, it reports their overall labor market activities accurately. 

Whom Does the Census Define as an Author? 

Since the Census procedure permits individuals to describe their occupations, 

every type of author or writer may be found in the Census PUMS. However, not every 

author or writer is found in the authors occupational category. All occupations which 

were included in the authors category between 1970 and 1990 are listed below: 

Author Librettist Scenario writer 

Biographer Literary writer Scientific writer 

Continuity man Lyricist Screen writer 

Continuity writer Magazine writer Script writer 

Dramatist Manual writer Short story writer 

Fiction writer Novelist Special writer 

Free-lance writer Play writer Speech writer 

Gag writer Playwright Story writer 

Game author Poet Television script writer 

Ghost writer Poetess Television writer 

Handbook writer Professional writer Verse writer-greeting cards 

Humorist Program writer Writer-not specified 

Lexicographer Radio script writer 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 21 

The authors category includes all writers of fiction and many other types of 

writer as well. The Census does not provide the relative distribution of persons across 

these occupations. 

Writers are also found in other Census occupation categories. For example, a 

sampling of listings within the editors and reporters category reveals (in 1990) 

advertising copy writer, columnist, art critic, book critic, copy writer, editorial writer, 

feature writer, literary writer, news writer and sports writer. Similarly, the technical 

writers category contains writers in the fields of engineering, health and science, plus 

specialists in documentation and technical writing. Technical writers became an 

occupational category in 1980; prior to 1980, they were included in the artists, 

performers and related workers not elsewhere classified. In 1990, the latter category 

contained among its unique potpourri of occupations a few at the very fringes of the 

writing profession, such as crossword puzzle maker and language translator. One 

might conclude that the author occupational category, if viewed as encompassing all 

"creative" writing, could be construed as too broad. On the other hand, if viewed as 

encompassing all those who earn their living from writing, it could be construed as 

too narrow. 

As discussed in the general introduction to this report, most studies of persons 

in the labor force use the civilian labor force as their baseline definition. A variant of 

this definition--the experienced civilian labor force--includes all persons not in the 

military who are working, but only those unemployed persons who have had recent 

prior work experience.’ In the section immediately following, the size and geographic 

and industrial distribution of authors in the experienced civilian labor force are 

examined. 

However, compelling arguments also favor analyzing the labor market 

experiences of authors and other artists, using a more expansive definition of the 

work force. There are numerous anecdotal examples of struggling writers whose 

status would officially place them either out of the labor force or as members of other 

occupations for extended periods in their careers. Fortunately, the Census permits the 

use of a more expansive definition. It includes all persons who call themselves authors 

in the Census PUMS, regardless of labor market status or work experience. These 

persons will be called all Census authors. 

In light of these considerations, the rest of this part of the report uses three 

different definitions of the author profession: authors in the experienced civilian labor 

force, all Census authors and full-timeyear-round authors (those who worked at least 35 

hours per week and 50 weeks per year). In the next section (see Tables 1 through 4), 

information on the size and growth of the profession and on industry and locational 

preferences of authors is presented for those authors who are members of the civilian 

labor force. In the remainder of the section (including Tables 5 through 16), where 

characteristics of the representative author are presented and compared to counterparts in the reference occupational groups, the all Census authors definition is used. 

Looking at all Census authors makes writers, as well as all artists, appear slightly 

less successful relative to other professional and technical workers for three reasons: 

(1) a slightly higher percentage of all Census authors is found in the out of the labor 

force category; (2) a higher percentage of authors in the experienced civilian labor 
22 I Artists in the Work Force 

force is unemployed; and (3) a lower percentage of working authors holds full-time 

employment. Looking at only those authors in the experienced civilian labor force 

has a similar effect, since reasons (2) and (3) still apply. If one’s objective is to 

compare authors to members of other occupations when they share the same job 

status, perhaps the best choice is to compare the labor market experiences of only 

full-time, year round workers in each profession (those who worked at least 35 hours 

per week and 50 weeks per year). 

Growth in the Author Profession and Where Writers Work 

The growth in the author profession over the 1970-90 period was exceptional 

and erratic. Authors in the experienced civilian labor force grew more rapidly than 

any other artist class, at an astonishing rate of 285 percent over this period, 

numbering 106,730 by 1990. The most dramatic growth was between 1985 and 

1990 when the number of authors roughly doubled (Table 1). Table 2 shows the 

regional distribution of authors in the 1970-90 Census years. The nine-region 

breakdown in this table is commonly used in geographic displays of Census data. 

TABLE 1 

NUMBERS OF AUTHORS IN THE EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR 

FORCE, COMPARED TO (1) ARTISTS, (2) PROFESSIONALS, AND 

(3) ALL WORKERS, 1970 TO 1990 

CATEGORY 1970 1980 1990 GROWTH RATE 

Authors 27,752 45,748 106,730 284.6% 

Artists 736,960 1,085,693 1,671,278 126.8% 

Professionals 8,800,210 12,275,140 16,647,688 89.2% 

All Workers 80,051,046 104,057,985 123,044,450 53.7% 

Source: Diane C. Ellis and John C. Beresford, Trends in Artist Occupations, 

1970-1990 (Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 1994). 

In 1980 and 1990 the Pacific region, dominated by California, contained the 

most authors. In 1970 this region was second in number of authors to the MidAtlantic (including New York), which in turn came in second in 1980 and 1990. The 

Pacific region, however, ranked third in the rate of growth of authors over the 20-year 

period. The Mountain region had the highest rate of growth, closely followed by the 

West South Central region. The Mid-Atlantic had the slowest growth in authors, 

closely followed by New England. Larger regions naturally tend to be home to more 

authors, but differences exist between authors and all members of the labor force, 

both in terms of where they are located and of relative regional growth. 

Location quotients are used to show regional concentration, usually of industries 

or of workers. Here a location quotient is used to show occupational concentration, 

the percentage of authors who reside in a region divided by the percentage of the 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 23 

entire labor force which resides in the region. For example, a location quotient greater 

than one will be found in a region in which a larger percentage of the author labor 

force resides than of the overall labor force. A location quotient of exactly one implies 

identical shares of the author and the total labor force in a region. For any 

occupation, the entire country must have a location quotient of one. 

How this plays out among the nine Census regions can be seen in Table 2. The 

two regions with the greatest endowment of authors relative to the entire labor force 

have rather consistently been the Pacific and the Mid-Atlantic. However, there has 

been a gradual trend toward a geographic distribution of authors more closely aligned 

with the distribution of the entire labor force. This is shown by the convergence of 

the regional location quotients toward one. Most notable in this convergence process 

is New England, which in 1970 had the highest concentration of authors. Its location 

quotient is now almost one. 

TABLE 2 

NUMBERS AND RELATIVE DISTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS IN THE 

EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE, BY CENSUS REGIONAL 

DIVISION, 1970-1990 

NUMBER OE AUTHORS AUTHOR LOCATION QUOTIENT REGION 1970 I 1980 11990 1970 1980 1990 

New England 2749 3119 8190 1.606 1.154 1.026 

Mid-Atlantic 7116 11968 21121 1.359 1.154 1.325 

East North 2915 4244 11152 0.520 0.490 0.608 

Central 

West North 1609 1945 5730 0.720 0.523 0.714 

Central 

South Atlantic 4713 6068 16804 1.145 0.848 0.898 

East South 685 654 2767 0.423 0.239 0.449 

Central 

West South 1121 2192 6407 0.450 0.480 0.578 

Central 

Mountain 1054 2514 6490 0.976 0.954 1.123 

Pacific 5790 13044 28119 1.582 1.994 1.689 

TOTAL 27752 45748 106730 1 

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWN: New England: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT. Mid-Atlantic: NJ, 

NY, PA. East North Central: IL, IN, MI, OH, Wl. West North Central: IA, KN, MN, MO, 

NE, ND, SD. South Atlantic: DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV. East South Central: 

AL, KY, MS, TN. West South Central: AR, LA, OK, TX. Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, 

NM, UT, WY. Pacific: AK, CA, HI, OR, WA. 

SOURCE: Ellis and Beresford, Trends in Artist Occupations, 1970-1990 (Washington: 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1994), Table 5; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau 

of Labor Statistics, Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment (Washington, various years). 
24 I Artists in the Work Force 

More detail on author residence can be seen at the state level. Table 3 shows the 

ten states in which the most authors resided in the three Census years. These top ten 

states have been home to roughly two-thirds of all authors in the labor force in each 

Census year, regardless of their identity and ranking. California ranked first in author 

residence in 1980 and 1990, but second to New York in 1970. Washington joined 

the top ten ranking in 1990. Other states ascending the rankings are Texas, rising 

from ninth in 1970 to third in 1990, and Florida, rising from eleventh in 1970 to 

fifth in 1990. 

TABLE 3 

THE TEN STATES WITH THE MOST AUTHORS IN THE EXPERIENCED
 

CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE IN 1990
 

STATE Amount in 1990 Amounl in 1980 Amount in 1970
 

California 23,251 11 .272 5,035 

New York 14,804 9361 5,567 

Texas 4,753 1 487 721 

Illinois 4,264 1 701 840 

Florida 4,116 1 352 708 

Virginia 4,056 1 320 914 

Massachusetts 4,042 1 525 1,347 

Pennsylvania 3,281 1 237 710 

New Jersey 3,036 1 370 839 

Washington 2,679 852 448 

Top Ten in Each Year 

as % of Total Author 

Labor Force 64.0% 68.9% 66.4% 

SOURCE: Ellis and Beresford, Trends in Artist Occupations, 1970-1990 

(Washington: National Endowment for the Arts, 1994), Table 5. 

Another way to look at the distribution of authors among states is to examine 

their percentages in each state’s experienced civilian labor force, where the ten states 

with the highest percentage of author to total employment are ranked. The top ten 

states in this ranking are New York, California, Vermont, New Mexico, Virginia, 

Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington and Alaska. New York and 

California top both state rankings, and may well be special cases, with their 

concentrations of radio, television, film, publishing and advertising industries. Many, 

if not all of the ten states in this ranking are high "quality of life" states where people 

with no constraints on where they can live would be likely to locate. Prime examples 

are Vermont and New Mexico. 

For Whom Authors Work: Distribution by Industry 

When authors in the experienced civilian labor force are split into the ten broad 

industry groups derived from the Census, 65.9 percent of authors are found in 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 25 

Professional and Related Services. In 1990 only Construction and Manufacturing 

also contained more than 10 percent of the total. Because most industry groups 

contain a large number of industries, it is more enlightening to examine which 

specific industries employ the most authors. Table 4 shows that Miscellaneous 

Professional Services employed 52.2 percent of all authors in 1990. All other 

industries held no more than 7 percent of author employment in each Census year. 

The top ten industries combined employed 80.8 percent of all authors in 1990. Of 

the top ten industries in 1990, nine were also in the top ten in 1980, but only four 

were among the ten largest in 1970. 

TABLE 4 

THE TEN INDUSTRIES WHICH EMPLOYED THE MOST AUTHORS IN 

1990 AND THEIR PERCENTAGE SHARE OF THE AUTHOR 

EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE 

INDUSTRY % in 1990 % in 1980 % in 1970 

Miscellaneous Professional Services 52.2% 72.2% 39.9% 

Printing and Publishing, 6.7 4.8 6.5 

except Newspapers 

Theaters and Motion Pictures 4.9 3.4 1.7 

Colleges and Universities 4.2 1.5 2.5 

Management and Public 3.3 * * 

Relations Services 

Advertising 2.5 1.2 1.3 

Radio and Television Broadcasting 2.2 2.3 2.1 

Newspaper Printing and Publishing 1.8 2.0 0.8 

Business Services, n.e.c. 1.6 0.9 0.4 

Research, Development, 1.4 0.5 ** 

and Testing Services
 

Top Ten in Each Year as % 80.8 90.0 74.0
 

of Total Author Labor Force
 

 ̄ Included in Miscellaneous Professional Services in 1980 and 1970.
 

 ̄ *Included in Miscellaneous Professional Services in 1970.
 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulation 1970, 1980, 1990 U.S. Census PUMS.
 

Demographic Characteristics of Authors 

The information that follows incorporates everyone who identified himself or 

herself as an author in the Census, regardless of being in the experienced civilian 

labor force at Census time. Therefore it includes (1) those who were unemployed 

with no prior work experience, (2) those claiming an occupation but who are out of 

the labor force, and (3) those employed by the military. By changing to the more 

inclusive all Census authors description from the experienced civilian labor force 

description, the number of authors covered increased significantly. 
26 I Artists in the Work Force 

Basic demographic characteristics of all Census authors in 1970-90 are shown in 

Tables 5 through 8. Tables 5 and 6 show detailed characteristics of all authors, and 

then of selected reference groups: all artists (including authors), all professional and 

technical workers other than artists, and the two closely related job categories: editors 

and reporters and technical writers. Tables 7 and 8 reproduce the same characteristics 

of all authors, and then of male, female, white, black and Hispanic authors.2 

TABLE 5 

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS VS.
 

SELECTED REFERENCE GROUPS, 1970
 

ATTRIBUTE AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH EDITORS & TECHNICAL
 

WORKERS REPORTERS WRITERS
 

Age 43.0 39.1 39.6 39.9 NA
 

Education 14.9 13.6 15.0 14.9 NA
 

% WHO ARE:
 

Married 67.2 66.2 72.1 69.1 NA
 

Head of 68.6 59.3 55.2 63.2 NA
 

Household
 

Women 37.3 36.3 47.8 46.9 NA
 

White 97.3 94.6 93.1 97.0 NA
 

Black 2.2 3.6 5.4 1.8 NA 

Other Race 0.5 1.8 1.5 1.2 NA 

Hispanic 1.5 3.0 1.9 1.3 NA 

Disabled 8.1 7.9 5.7 5.9 NA 

Veteran 37.0 30.9 NA 

Immigrant 5.2 8.8 5.7 5.4 NA 

Non-Citizen 2.0 3.2 2.3 3.0 NA 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

In 1990, the average Census author was 44 years old, and had completed just 

under 16 years of education. Thus it is not surprising to discover that 43 percent of 

all authors held a bachelor’s degree. An additional 21 percent had master’s degrees. 

Of the authors in the 1990 Census, 57 percent were married and heads of their 

households, 50 percent were women, 95 percent were white, 3 percent were black 

and one percent was Hispanic. 

Most demographic trends found in the overall population and labor force have 

parallels in the author labor force from 1970 to 1990. The U. S. labor force has 

become better educated, more ethnically diverse and comprised of a higher 

percentage of women. Other general demographic trends observed in all the 

occupational groups profiled in Table 5 and 6 include lower rates of marriage and 

household formation and a decline in the percentage of veterans. 

The conventional wisdom in the United States would probably regard authors as 

being very similar to other artists, but authors’ demographics differ in many ways 

from those of artists. With respect to education, authors more closely resembled 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 27 

TABLE 6
 

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS VS.
 

SELECTED REFERENCE GROUPS, 1990
 

ATTRIBUTE AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH EDITORS & TECHNICAL
 

WORKERS REPORTERS WRITERS 

Age 44.5 39.1 40.1 37.9 40.2 

Education 15.8 14.2 15.4 15.4 15.3 

% WITH DEGREES: 

Bachelor’s 43.3 30.7 33.0 52.6 44.5 

Master’s 21.1 9.1 15.7 12.9 15.0 

Professional 3.0 1.5 7.5 1.4 0.8 

Doctor’s 6.4 1.1 3.1 1.3 2.7 

% WHO ARE: 

Married 57.3 56.4 65.1 52.5 61.5 

Head of 57.3 51.8 54.0 55.0 62.8 

Household 

Women 50.3 46.9 53.4 52.9 49.9 

White 94.7 89.8 86.2 91.6 92.2 

Black 2.9 4.6 8.0 5.1 4.6 

Other Race 2.4 5.6 5.8 3.3 3.2 

Hispanic 1.2 2.9 2.2 1.9 1.3 

Disabled 8.3 6.0 4.6 4.2 5.4 

Veteran 17.2 13.3 15.8 10.7 23.3 

Immigrant 7.5 10.9 9.1 7.4 6.3 

Non-Citizen 3.3 5.4 3.7 3.7 1.8 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1990 Census PUMS. 

other professional and technical workers from 1970 to 1990. However, their level of 

education exceeded that of all artists by about one-and-a-half years. In 1990 authors 

held more of every type of college degree than all artists, and held more bachelor’s, 

master’s and doctor’s degrees than other professional and technical workers. Authors 

had consistently higher rates of marriage and heading households than artists, 

explained perhaps by their averaging four to seven years older than artists. This age 

differential reflects both later entry and greater longevity in the occupation. It 

narrowed somewhat in 1990, due probably to many new, younger entrants to the 

profession. 

In other respects, authors differ from both artists and other professional and 

technical workers. As noted, authors in every period are older than both groups. 

Persons with work-affecting disabilities3 consistently form a higher percentage of the 

author labor force than of the other groups, due to the relatively minimal physical 

demands required by writing. The typical author is more likely to be a woman than 

is the typical artist, but less likely to be a woman than the typical 

professional/technical worker. The typical author is less likely to be a member of a 
28 I Artists in the Work Force 

racial minority or to be a Hispanic than either reference group members. Thus no 

numerical evidence in the Census reflects the increasing popularity of AfricanAmerican and Hispanic writers that has occurred in the United States in the 1980s 

and 1990s. The percentage of these two groups in the author labor force actually 

declined in those decades. 

The two groups, editors and reporters and technical writers, appear similar to 

authors, although the age in both has been consistently younger. Educational 

attainment is similar, but some race and gender differences exist. Compared to 

authors, in each Census year editors and reporters have had a higher percentage of 

women and technical writers a lower percentage of women. Both reference groups 

have had a higher percentage of racial and ethnic minorities in their ranks in each 

Census year. 

Data on authors who are also members of the experienced civilian labor force 

show essentially the same picture and will not be treated in detail here. Generally, 

authors in the civilian labor force are younger, better educated, more likely to be 

married and heads of households and less likely to be women. In 1970 and 1980 they 

were more likely to be white. In 1990 the percent of white and black were essentially 

the same. Comparable differences exist between all Census artists and artists in the 

civilian labor force, and apply to professional and technical workers as well. 

Authors who work full-time year-round are a much smaller group, constituting 

39.7 percent of all Census authors and 46.4 percent of authors in the experienced 

civilian labor force. Full-time authors had somewhat more education, were 41 

percent women, and a larger percentage belonged to racial and ethnic minorities. 

The demographic characteristics of authors over the 1970-90 period, broken 

into gender, race and ethnicity are shown in Tables 7 and 8. Over all three Census 

years, white authors were older and had completed more formal education than 

minority authors. Male authors in 1980 and 1990 were older and possessed more 

formal education with a higher percentage of men writers possessing professional and 

doctoral degrees. More women writers possessed bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In 

general, a higher percentage of white writers possessed bachelor’s and higher degrees 

than minority writers, with the exception of Hispanic writers. 

Authors in the Labor Market 

In this section a variety of characteristics relating to the labor market status of 

authors and their reference groups is examined. Tables 9-10 present information on 

authors versus the selected reference groups for 1970-90. Tables 11 and 12 focus on 

labor market characteristics over the 20-year period by gender, race and ethnicity 

rather than by reference groups. 

Several important points should be kept in mind relating to how this 

information was collected. First, questions on labor market experiences may refer to 

the Census year or to the prior year, depending on the reported activity in which the 

respondent was engaged in during the reference week. Other statistics provided in 

these tables, such as full-time, year-round status and average hours and weeks 

worked, refer to work experience in the prior year, since these statistics are based on 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 29 

TABLE 7
 

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS,
 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1970 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

Age 43.0 42.6 43.6 43.1 37.7 38.6 

Education 14.9 14.9 15.0 14.9 14.7 13.8 

% WHO ARE: 

Married 67.2 74.0 55.7 67.8 44.4 71.4 

Head of 68.6 90.6 31.7 68.6 74.1 71.4 

Household 

Women 37.3 0 100.0 37.2 37.0 21.4 

White 97.3 97.3 97.2 100.0 0 100.0 

Black 2.2 2.2 2.1 0 100.0 0 

Other Race 0.5 0.5 O.7 0 0 0 

Hispanic 1.5 1.8 0.9 1.5 0 100.0 

Disabled 8.1 9.2 6.0 8.2 5.0 14.3 

Veteran 37.0 61.8 0 37.2 42.9 --

Immigrant 5.2 4.8 6.0 5.2 0 21.4 

Non-Citizen 2.0 1.5 2.9 2.0 0 21.4 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

TABLE 8
 

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS,
 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1990
 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

Age 44.5 46.2 42.9 42.0 39.7 36.4 

Education 15.8 16.0 15.8 16.0 14.4 15.1 

% WITH DEGREES: 

Bachelor’s 43.3 41.0 45.6 43.7 30.4 41.8 

Master’s 21.1 20.6 21.5 21.5 11.9 16.0 

Professional 3.0 3.9 2.0 3.0 1.3 3.7 

Doctor’s 6.4 8.4 4.3 6.4 1.9 6.0 

% WHO ARE: 

Married 57.3 56.5 58.2 57.8 40.8 53.8 

Head of 57.3 76.0 38.9 57.7 54.2 44.3 

Household 

Women 50.3 0 100 50.4 48.4 42.5 

White 94.7 94.6 94.8 100.0 0 76.9 

Black 2.9 3.0 2.8 0 100.0 3.6 

Other Race 2.4 2.4 2.4 0 0 19.5 

Hispanic 1.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.5 100.0 

Disabled 8.3 9.2 7.4 8.3 5.4 4.6 

Veteran 17.2 33.4 1.2 17.3 21.2 8.4 

Immigrant 7.5 8.4 6.7 6.4 6.9 45.0 

Non-Citizen 3.3 3.9 2.7 2.8 2.9 19.4 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the1990CensusPUMS. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 9 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS AND 

SELECTED REFERENCE GROUPS, 1970 (Medians in Parentheses) 

ATTRIBUTE AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH EDITORS & TECHNICAL 

WORKERS REPORTERS WRITERS 

% WHO ARE: 

Employed 78.7 77.1 79.5 85.0 NA 

Unemployed 3.4 3.6 1.3 2.8 NA 

Not in Work Force 17.9 19.4 19.1 18.7 NA 

Worked in 85.4 83.2 82.5 82.7 NA 

Census Yr. 

Worked in 91.1 89.8 88.4 89.2 NA 

Prior Year 

EMPLOYER: 

Private 48.8 68.5 50.8 84.5 NA 

Government 10.6 9.2 41.5 7.7 NA 

Self 39.3 21.7 7.4 7.3 NA 

Full-Time* 43.6 40.4 42.7 47.8 NA 

WORK TIME: 

Hours Worked* 28.7 27.3 30.2 28.9 NA 

(37.0) (37.0) (40.0) (37.0) 

Weeks Worked* 39.3 36.8 37.4 38.9 NA 

(51.0) (51.0) (51.0) (51.0) 

"1969. SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

TABLE 10 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS AND 

SELECTED REFERENCE GROUPS, 1990 (Medians in Parentheses) 

ATTRIBUTE AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH EDITORS & TECHNICAL 

WORKERS REPORTERS WRITERS 

% WHO ARE: 

Employed 83.2 80.9 86.2 85.2 86. I 

Unemployed 2.7 4.1 1.4 3.0 3.7 

Not in Work Force 14.1 15.0 11.9 11.8 I 0.I 

Worked in 88.4 86.3 89.1 88.7 88.6 

Census Year 

Worked in 89.3 91.9 93.5 93.8 94.1 

Prior Year 

EMPLOYER: 

For Profit 25.6 54.9 46.3 73.1 74.8 

Non Profit 6.7 6.9 14.7 9.2 5.3 

Government 8.3 6.4 31.4 7.7 11.0 

Self 58.0 31.0 7.4 9.6 8.4 

Full-Time* 39.7 46.1 55.6 58.6 64.8 

WORK TIME: 

Hours Worked* 32.7 34.4 37.2 36.7 37.9 

(40.0) (40.0) (40.0) (40.0) (40.0) 

Weeks Worked* 37.4 39.1 42.1 42.3 43.5 

(49.0) (50.0) (52.0) (52.0) (52.0) 

"1989 SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1990 Census PUMS. 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 31 

a calendar year’s labor market experience. Also, for persons such as authors for whom 

moonlighting is common, the labor market data--especially the annual data--is 

likely to reflect time spent and experience in non-author jobs as well. 

A labor market snapshot of authors in 1990 shows that 2.7 percent experienced 

unemployment during the reference week and 14.1 percent were neither working nor 

unemployed (out of the labor force). From 1970-90 authors had consistently lower 

rates of unemployment than all artists, but consistently higher rates (1.5 times 

greater) than other professional and technical workers. However, author 

unemployment rates over the 20-year period were roughly comparable to those of 

editors and reporters and technical writers, and in 1990 authors had lower rates.4 

Since 1980 authors have been more likely to be found out of the labor force than 

either of these groups, and than other professional and technical workers in general. 

Regarding the frequency and duration of employment, in 1990, roughly the 

same percentage of authors as other professional and technical workers worked at 

some time during the Census year. A greater difference (3 percentage points) exists 

in the percentage actually working during the reference week, suggesting that 

relatively more authors drift in and out of employment in a given year than other 

professionals. 

In 1980 and 1990 authors worked fewer weeks and fewer hours per year than all 

artists, and fewer authors worked full-time year-round, due most likely to the much 

higher rates of self-employment in the author profession. However, this higher rate 

of self-employment for authors does not account for why other professional and 

technical workers continually experience less unemployment than authors. The 

difference in unemployment is more likely explained by these characteristics shared 

by other artists: Few or no entry barriers to the profession, less stability in existing 

jobs, frequent new jobs and assignments, changes in jobs and extended periods of no 

work. 

Among all Census authors in 1990, besides the 58 percent who reported selfemployment, 8 percent reported working for government and 32 percent reported 

working for private sector employers. Authors differ from other professional and 

technical workers in their low percent of government employment. 

Authors in the experienced civilian labor force were found to have higher rates 

of both employment and unemployment rates than all Census authors. Members of 

the experienced civilian labor force by definition can only be working or 

unemployed; they cannot be out of the labor force. By contrast, all Census authors 

can be out of the labor force. In comparing all Census authors to full-time yearround authors, rates of unemployment and of absence from the labor force in the 

Census year are naturally lower among persons who worked full-time the entire 

previous year. However, full-time authors were less likely to be self-employed (46.1 

percent vs. 58.0 percent for all Census authors in 1990). The comparisons among 

authors by gender, race and ethnicity in Tables 11 and 12 generally reflect differences 

found in the labor force as a whole. Men were more likely to be employed than 

women, and less likely to be out of the labor force. A significantly higher percentage 

of men worked full-time in all three years (57.6 percent men versus 49.4 percent for 
32 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 11
 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS,
 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1970 (Medians in Parentheses)
 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

% WHO ARE: 

Employed 78.7 85.1 67.9 79.0 70.4 64.3 

Unemployed 3.4 3.9 2.6 3.4 0 14.3 

Not in Work Force 1 7.9 10.9 29.6 1 7.5 29.6 21.4 

Worked in 85.4 90.3 77.1 85.4 88.9 83.8 

Census Year 

Worked in 91.1 96.1 82.9 91.1 96.3 71.4 

Previous Year 

EMPLOYER: 

Private 48.8 53.1 41.5 49.1 37.0 57.1 

Government 10.6 10.7 10.5 10.3 22.2 7.1 

Self 39.3 35.2 46.0 39.2 40.7 28.6 

Full-Time* 43.6 55.0 24.4 44.1 33.3 28.6 

WORK TIME: 

Hours Worked* 28.7 33.1 21.4 28.9 26.0 24.3 

(37.0) (40.0) (22.0) (40.0) (32.0) (34.5) 

Weeks Worked* 39.3 43.5 32.1 39.4 39.9 33.8 

(51.0) (51.0) (43.5) (51.0) (48.5) (47.2) 

"1969. SOURCE:Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

women in 1990). However, in 1980 and 1990 both black and Hispanic authors were 

more likely to be full-time than white authors. Also, in both years the percentages of 

blacks and Hispanic authors working for any level of government are two to three 

times those of whites. Most of this differential is made up by lower rates of selfemployment among minority authors, as it is hard to imagine many full-time jobs in 

government as authors. This choice in turn may reflect greater difficulties among 

minorities in "making it" as full-time independent writers. 

Earnings of Authors 

This section examines how authors have fared economically over the 1970-90 

period. Earnings and other sources of income to authors are reported and compared 

to earnings of reference occupations. The term earnings refers to income from work 

effort, either in the form of wages and salaries or earnings from self-employment. 

Census data on earnings, as noted above, are attributed to one occupation--that 

which the respondent identifies as the "chief job activity or business last week." Thus 

this information does not distinguish earnings of authors received from writing or 

from earnings received in other lines of work. Surveys of authors discussed in the next 

section of this report consistently report that a low percentage of total earnings is 

derived from writing. 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 33 

TABLE 12
 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS,
 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1990 (Medians in Parentheses)
 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

% WHO ARE: 

Employed 83.2 85.9 80.5 83.3 81.0 88.0 Unemployed 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.6 6.9 2.5 

Not in Work Force 14.1 11.2 16.9 14.1 12.1 9.5 Worked in 88.4 90.5 86.4 88.4 89.5 95.7 Census Year 

Worked in 89.3 90.7 88.0 89.6 85.4 97.8 Previous Year 

EMPLOYER: 

For Profit 25.6 25.9 25.2 25.3 33.3 26.6
 

Non Profit 6.7
 5.9 7.4 6.5 8.7 11.4 

Government 8.3 8.2 8.4 7.7 21.1 15.4 Self 58.0 59.0 57.1 59.1 35.2 44.3 Full-Time* 49.4 57.6 41.3 49.3 52.7 49.8 WORK TIME: 

Hours Worked* 32.7 36.0 29.5 32.8 32.5 37.2 (40.0) (40.0) (35.0) (40.0) (40.0) (50.0) Weeks Worked* 37.4 39.2 35.6 37.5 35.8 39.1 (49.0) (50.0) (48.0) (49.0) (48.0) (40.0)
 

’1989. SOURCE:Authors’ tabulations from the 1990 Census PUMS.
 

The Census provides separate categories for wages and salaries and selfemployment. The latter category is further broken into non-farm and farm 

components. Only the non-farm component is reported here in self-employment 

earnings. For authors (and the reference groups discussed) farm earnings are minimal, 

and clearly cannot be from writing. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, total 

earnings reported include all wage, salary and self-employment earnings, including 

farm. 5 

Successful authors may command earnings not only from writing, but may 

receive royalties from published work. Such royalties are included here in a category 

called asset income which also includes interest, dividend and net rental income. 

Asset income can only roughly measure actual royalty income received by authors. By 

comparison, little or no royalty income is earned by non-authors, so all else being 

equal, authors should receive greater amounts of asset income.6 

A wage rate is also calculated and reported here. This is defined as total earnings 

from work divided by total hours worked. Several of the income entries from the 

1970 and 1980 Census that are reported in the tables below were calculated by the 

authors of this report. One of these--that of total earnings--was done out of 

necessity, because it was not a separate category until the 1990 Census. Two other 

calculations--of total personal income and total household income--were made to 

minimize the adverse effects of the Census practice of capping income categories- to 
34 I Artists in the Work Force 

preserve anonymity. In 1990, for example, the Census capped each income category 

at different levels, which were determined by the earnings distribution in each 

category. Total personal income was capped at $284,000, but asset income was 

capped at $40,000. 

In Tables 13 and 14 the earnings and incomes of all Census authors are 

compared to all Census artists and other professional and technical workers over the 

1970-1990 period. The actual year in which earnings and incomes were recorded was 

the year prior to the Census, since all earnings and income data are annual averages. 

In Tables 13 through 16 mean (average) values are reported first. Median 

(midpoint) values are reported in parentheses below the mean values. Means, rather 

than medians, are discussed below because many of the categories reported on have 

more than half the sample reporting zero earnings. In such cases, the mean provides 

more useful information than the median, which is zero. A comparison of means and 

medians is helpful in interpreting some of the differences in earnings found among 

occupations. As one example, the ratio of the mean to the median is later used as a 

measure of earnings variability. 

In 1989, the average total earnings of all Census authors were $23,335. These 

earnings were about $2,100 more than the average earnings of all artists, but almost 

$4,800 less than the average earnings of all other professional and technical workers. 

Editors and reporters and technical writers also earned more than authors, by $1,600 

and $4,700 respectively. A higher percentage of authors’ earnings was derived from 

self-employment than from the reference groups. 

Comparisons among occupational groups over the Census years reveal that only 

in 1969 did authors earn more than other professional and technical workers, and 

more than editors and reporters. Since 1979, the first year for which this information 

is available, technical writers have also earned more than authors. In all three years all 

artists’ earnings were less than those of other professional and technical workers. In 

1979 only, artists’ earnings were greater than authors’ by about $200.8 

Authors’ earnings grew at a relatively slow rate (175 percent) between 1969 and 

1979, lagging behind those of the reference groups (205 percent for artists, 226 

percent for editors and reporters, and 261 percent for other professional and 

technical workers). Between 1979 and 1989, authors’ earnings grew faster than those 

of the reference groups. 

These earnings increases may initially seem dramatic. However, most have not 

even kept pace with rising prices. After deflating earnings to allow for changes in the 

Consumer Price Index over this period, it is apparent that in constant 1969 dollars, 

authors’ earnings fell from $8,743 in 1969 to $5,524 in 1979, and then rose to 

$6,906 in 1989. Thus in constant 1969 dollars authors’ earnings fell by $1,567 over 

the 1969-1989 period. By comparison, all artists combined lost $684, editors and 

reporters lost $265, and other professional and technical workers gained $527 in real 

earnings during this time. 

Earnings data for authors in the experienced civilian labor force tell essentially 

the same story, ranking the same relative to those in the other occupations: first in 

1969, last in 1979, and lower than all but artists in 1989. 
 

 

 

 

The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 35 

TABLE 13 

MEAN INCOME OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS AND SELECTED 

REFERENCE GROUPS, 1969 (Medians in Parentheses) 

TYPE OF 

I NCOME 

AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH 

WORKERS 

EDITORS & 

REPORTERS 

TECHNICAL 

WRITERS 

Wage & Salary 5,821 5,533 6,717 7,148 NA 

(2,800) (3,300) (6,100) (6,050) 

Self-Employment 2,621 1,428 1,067 476 NA 

(0) (0) (0) (0) 

[otal Earnings 8,473 6,968 7,797 7,638 NA 

(7,500) (5,100) (6,900) (6,500) 

~,sset Income 1,194 513 548 726 NA 

[oral Personal 

(0) 

9,829 

(0) 

7,611 

(0) 

8,463 

(0) 

8,491 NA 

(8,100) (5,900) (7,100) (7,150) 

[oral Household 16,003 13,247 14,045 14,789 NA 

(13,100) (11,600) (12,500) (12,600) 

Hourly Wage 5.19 4.55 4.30 5.06 NA 

% Below 

(3.79) 

6.3% 

(3.05) 

6.6% 

(3.60) 

4.3% 

(3.44) 

4.3% NA 

Poverty Line 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

TABLE 14 

MEAN INCOME OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS AND SELECTED 

REFERENCE GROUPS, 1989 (Medians in Parentheses) 

TYPE OF AUTHORS ARTISTS PROF/TECH EDITORS & TECHNICAL 

I NCOME WORKERS REPORTERS WRITERS 

Wage & Salary 15,251 16,781 25,751 23,292 26,157 

(966) (9,102) (22,000) (19,345) (26,000) Self-Employment 8,039 4,411 2,341 1,596 1,878 

(0) (0) (0) (0) (0) [oral Earnings 23,335 21,233 28,126 24,912 28,044 (13,000) (15,000) (23,558) (20,000) (27,00) ~sset Income 4,066 1,654 1,475 1,894 1,494 

(0) (0) (0) (0) (10) [oral Personal 30,089 24,077 30,965 27,936 31,425 

(20,500) (17,116) (25,000) (22,306) (29,204) l’otal Household 62,083 52,165 56,952 55,352 56,397 

(49,251 ) (43,000) (49,020) (46,000) (50,537) 

Hourly Wage 28.08 17.06 17.13 14.07 16.35 

(10.00) (9.61) (12.50) (10.82) (13.90) % Below 8.4% 9.1% 5.2% 7.4% 3.0% 

Poverty Line 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1990 Census PUMS. 
36 I Artists in the Work Force 

The earnings of full-time year-round authors in 1989 were $35,896, or about 

$12,500 more than the earnings of all Census authors, ranking first among the 

reference occupations in 1969 and last in 1979. In 1989, authors earned more than 

all artists, and than editors and reporters and technical writers. In real 1970 dollars, 

earnings of full-time authors fell by $1,433, artists’ earnings fell by $1,604, editors 

and reporters’ earnings fell by $1,121, and those of other professional and technical 

workers fell by $525. 

The hourly wages reported in Tables 13 through 16 are constructed by dividing 

total earnings by hours worked. A comparison of these wages across the occupational 

categories for all Census members shows that authors had the highest hourly wage in 

all three Census years. In 1989, the author average hourly wage was roughly $10 

more than that of other professional workers. This is mainly because authors spent 

considerably fewer hours working than did the other professionals. In addition, a 

number of authors worked relatively few hours per year, but were very well 

compensated for their work. In two of three Census years, the wages of all Census 

authors were higher than the wages of experienced civilian labor force authors. Also, 

in general the wages of all Census or experienced labor force authors were higher than 

those of full-time year-round authors. 

Variability in Authors’ Earnings 

In every Census year, authors had a higher percentage of persons with zero (or 

negative) earnings than people in other comparable occupations. On the other end 

of the spectrum, Census evidence from 1970-90 shows that a higher percentage of 

authors had earnings at the maximum level (the level at which the Census assigns 

persons the same value regardless of actual income or earnings). Also, a higher 

percentage of authors had asset income (and income from all sources) at the 

maximum than any other occupational group. 

An examination of earnings variability data for authors and reference groups in 

the experienced civilian labor force shows the same relative outcomes. Naturally, 

fewer workers are found with zero earnings and more are found at the earnings 

maximum in each year. A higher percentage of authors again appears at both the low 

and high ends of the earnings spectrum compared to the reference groups. 

With full-time, year-round workers, the percentages of persons with zero 

earnings shrink considerably, while high percentages of persons have earnings at the 

maximum. There are minimal changes in the rankings by occupational group. 

Another statistic that highlights the concentration of persons at the low end of 

the income spectrum is the percentage of members in an occupation with household 

or individual incomes below the poverty line.9 The poverty status of all Census 

authors and members of occupational reference groups is found in Tables 13 and 14. 

Income counted toward poverty status is from all sources, including other family 

members, and thus includes more than earnings. This statistic also measures the 

concentration of poverty in different groups. 

Poverty rates of all Census authors, and of artists in general, are higher than those 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 37 

of editors and reporters, technical writers and all other professional and technical 

workers combined. Poverty rates fall for experienced labor force workers, and fall 

further for full-time, year-round workers. What does not change is the relative 

ranking of occupations within each category. Authors and all artists have the highest 

incidence of poverty, regardless of the labor force definition employed. This finding 

is particularly notable given that authors had the highest household incomes of all 

the occupational groups. 

Why are the earnings of authors subject to such variability? As mentioned earlier, 

authors, among other artists, work fewer hours in a year and experience greater 

variability in those hours worked. W~hen one considers the career of authors and of 

many other artists, one sees persons who move among projects or employers. 

Compensation may differ greatly from move to move. A best-selling book may be 

followed by one which does not sell. Rarely is there a long-term contractual 

relationship with a steady employer with compensation rising gradually every year, as 

there is in many other occupations. Alternative explanations exist, as put forth in the 

introduction to this report. Artists, including authors, are often risk-takers and 

gamble on the chance of becoming famous and wealthy through their occupation. 

Then also, "psychic income" may figure in, where persons will accept lower 

compensation because of the satisfaction their occupation provides in itself. Reality 

may lie in a mixture of these explanations. 

Other Sources of Income 

Total personal income--the sum of all income sources, including earnings-­

shows an improved status for authors when ranked against reference groups. In 1969, 

authors’ personal income ranked first, as did authors’ earnings. In 1979 and 1989, 

authors’ personal income ranked third. The main reason for their improved status in 

the personal income rankings is the greater amounts of asset income authors receive, 

including royalties and income from property. Royalties are hypothesized to be the 

main difference in boosting authors’ personal income; their asset income is from two 

to four times larger than the reference groups. Nevertheless, asset income averages 

only about one-fifth of total earnings for authors. 

The total personal incomes of authors in the experienced civilian labor force rank 

the same in each year relative to the reference groups. Among full-time, year-round 

workers, authors’ relative ranking in personal incomes is similar to those noted above, 

except that their personal incomes placed them first in 1989 as well as in 1969. 

The personal incomes of authors and most of the reference groups failed to keep 

pace with inflation from 1969 to 1989. All Census authors, for example, suffered a 

loss of $924 in real total personal income over this period. Authors in the experienced 

civilian labor force and full-time year-round authors also lost purchasing power over 

this period, by roughly the same amount. 

The financial status of authors shows improvement when one moves from 

earnings to total personal income to total household income. Tables 13 and 14 show 

that authors rank first in total household income each Census year. 
38 I Artists in the Work Force 

The primary contributor to household incomes other than the professionals 

described here clearly is the spouse or partner, when one is present. Why do authors 

have spouses who contribute more to household income than do members of other 

professions? One possibility is that authors, with their higher educational levels, 

might attract better educated spouses with higher earnings. 

Authors in the experienced civilian labor force continue to rank first in total 

household income. The picture changes only slightly when full-time year-round 

authors are examined. Their household income places them first in 1969 and 1989, 

and second in 1979. 

Regarding the effects of inflation, household income increases experienced by all 

occupational groups surveyed kept them ahead of inflation. All Census authors saw 

real household incomes rise by $2,370 over the 1969-89 period, with reference 

groups seeing comparable gains. This general conclusion held true for experienced 

civilian force and full-time year-round counterparts in each occupational group. The 

basic reason household incomes kept ahead of inflation is the increasing labor force 

participation of women over the same period, so more family members were in the 

labor force. 

Earnings and Income by Gender, Race and Ethnicity 

Tables 15 and 16 summarize information about authors’ earnings and income by 

gender and race. Men dominated all personal earnings, income and wage categories 

in all three Census years. Women’s annual earnings as a percentage of men’s increased 

from 42.8 percent in 1969 to 47.1 percent in 1979 to 52.5 percent in 1989. Women’s 

calculated hourly wage, measured as a percentage of men’s, increased from 58.2 

percent in 1969 to 82.0 percent in 1979, but fell dramatically to 40.4 percent in 

1989. The wage disparity in 1989 is especially noteworthy. The high hourly wage 

earners referred to above are mostly men, whose mean wage in 1989 of $40 is $24 

higher than the women’s. However the men’s median wage of $12 is less than $4 

higher than the women’s median. 

In absolute dollar terms, differences in total personal incomes between men and 

women authors are larger than differences in earnings. In 1979 and 1989 men earned 

more asset income. However, women authors had greater household income--less 

than $1,000 more than men--in all three Census years. While the household income 

of men authors is about one-third greater than their personal income, the household 

income of women authors is about two-thirds greater. Authors in general marry well, 

but women authors particularly find successful spouses. 

Less overall disparity exists among earnings of members of different races and 

ethnic backgrounds. In general, white earnings are higher than those of blacks and 

Hispanics, but percentage earnings differentials are narrower than those between the 

sexes, and show no consistent trends. Black authors’ earnings were between 80 and 

90 percent of white authors’ earnings, with the highest ratio in 1969. Hispanic 

authors’ earnings were between 64 and 115 percent of white authors’ earnings, with 

the highest ratio in 1979. Hourly wages showed similar small gaps in 1969 and 1979. 
 

 

 

 

The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 39 

TABLE 15
 

MEAN INCOMES OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS,
 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1969 (Medians in Parentheses)
 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

Wage & Salary 5,821 

(2,800) 

7,567 

(7,950) 

2,882 

(0) 

5,837 

(2,700) 

5,878 

(4,000) 

4,921 

(5,500) 

Self-Employment 2,621 3,154 1,726 2,655 1,781 543 

Total Earnings 

(0) 

8,473 

(7,500) 

(0) 

10,768 

(10,000) 

(0) 

4,610 

(2,500) 

(0) 

8,524 

(7,500) 

(0) 

7,659 

(8,000) 

(0) 

5,464 

(6,000) 

Asset Income 1,194 1,196 1,191 1,215 396 43 

(0) 

Total Personal 9,829 

(8,100) 

(0) 

12,121 

(10,300) 

(0) 

5,972 

(3,900) 

(0) 

9,900 

(8,200) 

(0) 

8,214 

(8,000) 

(0) 

5,536 

(6,100) 

Total Household 16,003 15,307 17,164 16,178 10,393 9,621 

Hourly Wage 

(13,100) 

5.19 

(13,000) 

6.15 

(14,000) 

3.58 

(13,300) 

5.20 

(8,700) 

5.26 

(9,600) 

3.70 

% Below 

(3.79) 

6.3% 

(4.90) 

5.3% 

(1.03) 

7.9% 

(3.74) 

6.2% 

(4.18) 

3.7% 

(3.23) 

0.0% 

Poverty Line 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1970 Census PUMS. 

TABLE 16 

MEAN INCOMES OF ALL CENSUS AUTHORS, 

BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY, 1989 (Medians in Parentheses) 

ATTRIBUTE ALL MEN WOMEN WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS 

Wage & Salary 15,251 20,465 10,101 15,235 17,068 13,833 

(966) (2,300) (200) (700) (10,000) (5,000) Self-Employment 8,039 10,154 5,951 8,274 4,157 6,671 

(0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) Total Earnings 23,335 30,663 16,099 23,553 21,337 20,504 

(13,000) (20,000) (9,000) (13,000) (1 7,000) (13,000) Asset Income 4,066 5,067 3,077 4,215 1,128 1,727 (0) (62) (0) (0) (0) (0) Total Personal 30,089 39,612 20,685 30,475 25,760 24,401 

(20,500) (28,900) (15,000) (20,883) (19,000) (18,000) 

Total Household 62,083 61,222 62,934 62,811 46,732 55,642 

(49,251) (48,400) (49,905) (49,992) (34,778) (38,000) Hourly Wage 28.08 40.10 16.22 28.68 16.43 13.46 

(10.00) (11.99) (8.40) (10.00) (9.14) (11.05) % Below 8.4% 9.4% 7.4% 7.8% 22.5% 11.3% 

Poverty Line 

SOURCE: Authors’ tabulations from the 1990 Census PUMS. 
40 I Artists in the Work Force 

In 1989, however, the gap widened dramatically. Typically, larger disparities existed 

between the personal and household incomes of whites versus blacks and Hispanics, 

than between men and women authors. 

The calculated mean wages of men authors and white authors more than 

doubled between 1979 and 1989, and significantly outpaced the growth in women 

and all minority wages. There was no comparable explosion in median wages for men 

and whites. Thus the growth in mean wages was driven by the success of a limited 

number of white men in securing very high hourly compensation for their output. 

In a similar vein, there was no explosion in the earnings of whites and men in 1989. 

The high mean wages reflect high hourly compensation, not high total 

compensation. 

As discussed above, poverty levels are based on household incomes, and not just 

earnings. In 1979 and 1989, the poverty rates of men authors were higher than those 

of women. Similarly, in the same two Census years, the poverty rates of white authors 

was lower than those of black and Hispanic authors, by wide margins. In 1969, 

women authors had a higher incidence of poverty than men authors, despite having 

higher household incomes. Also, in 1969 white authors had a higher incidence of 

poverty than black and Hispanic authors, despite having higher household incomes. 

The unusual distribution of poverty incidence among ethnic groups in 1969 may 

partly be attributable to small samples of black and Hispanic authors in that Census. 

Why Authors’ Earnings Differ from Those of Other Artists 

There is little evidence that being an author per se increases one’s earnings above 

those of other artists. A better explanation of authors’ earnings lies in the importance 

of the human capital variables. Recall that authors were consistently older and better 

educated, and were more likely to be white, married and the heads of households. All 

of these traits are positively correlated with earnings. Although some traits of authors 

(such as more likely to be a woman and to be self-employed) predict lower earnings, 

on balance, a human capital interpretation of differences in artists’ endowments of 

human capital would predict higher earnings for authors than for most other artist 

groups. 

One might also expect authors to have the strongest verbal and writing skills of 

any artist occupation. Though not measured by the Census, these traits are correlated 

with job success as well. There is considerable evidence that the majority of the 

earnings of authors is not from writing. Thus it may be true that authors’ verbal 

abilities enhanced their earnings in other occupations more than any general human 

capital skills possessed by other artists. 

Authors in the U. S. and Elsewhere 

This section continues to explore the economic condition of writers over the 

period 1970 to 1990. It differs from the previous chapter because it does not use data 

from the U.S. decennial censuses. The Census, while complete in such important 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 41 

dimensions as coverage of the population, is weak in describing the complexities of 

the labor market experiences and income generating opportunities utilized by writers 

and other artists. 

Multiple job holding among writers will first be examined, using the Census’ 

close cousin, the Current Population Survey. Then information will be provided on 

a number of issues relevant to the writers’ socioeconomic condition, utilizing data 

from a variety of surveys and studies. Last will come a brief comparison of the U.S. 

writers’ socioeconomic condition to writers in several other countries. 

Current Population Survey 

Multiple job holding is a characteristic of writers’ and artists’ labor market 

behavior that somewhat sets them apart from most other workers. Generally the 

term, multiple job holding, suggests that more than one job is held concurrently, but 

the data does not always confirm this. 

The Current Population Survey (CPS) interviews approximately 60,000 

households annually.~° Since artists are such a small proportion of the overall labor 

force, just over one percent, and with writers being only six percent of all artists, the 

accuracy of the CPS estimates as they relate to artists and writers is of concern. What 

could appear as considerable change in the behavior of writers nationwide might 

result from the change in the actions of a single writer in the sample)1 However, the 

CPS does provide an important supplement to the census information. 

Overall the multiple job holding rate in the U.S., calculated from the CPS, has 

shown a general upward trend, though it fluctuates with changes in economic 

conditions. In 1989 it was 6.2 percent.~2 The CPS indicates that multiple job 

holding is more common among artists and writers than other comparably trained 

workers. Eliminating those artists whose employment behavior is more like that of 

other professional workers than it is like an artist’s (architects, designers and 

photographers), then the multiple job holding rate for artists was 13.7 in 1991. In 

both 1989 and 1991 the rates for writers were approximately 20 percent, the highest 

rates among the artist occupations, except for that of those artists whose primary job 

was teaching art at the post-secondary level. (Table 17) 

Table 18 shows secondary occupations for individuals whose primary occupation 

was that of author. According to the CPS, the majority of these secondary jobs were 

in other professional occupations. In both 1989 and 1991 teaching something other 

than writing at a college or university was the most common second job for writers. 

Table 19 shows primary occupations for those whose secondary job was that of 

author. Not surprisingly, these primary jobs were in professional occupations, with a 

significant proportion of them being managerial. 

Several characteristics of writers seem to be associated with multiple job holding. 

In 1985 and 1989, writers with second jobs were more likely to be male than writers 

who held only one job. The opposite was true in 1991. Writers who held second jobs 

averaged 10 years younger than those who did not, suggesting that multiple job 

holding is more common among the new entrants into the writing occupation. 
42 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 1 7
 

CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY - MULTIPLE JOB HOLDING RATES:
 

1985, 1989, 1991 (Percent) 

1985 1989 1991 

Authors 7.8 20.7 21.3 

Actors 0 18.8 14.4 

Announcers 6.5 22.8 14.8 

Architects 9.5 8.3 6.2 

Art Teachers (post-secondary) 29.3 26.3 24.9 

Dancers 0 11.1 0 

Designers 5.6 5.6 9.0 

Musicians 12.1 6.5 17.1 

Painters 16.8 1 3.0 7.1 

Photographers 1 1.3 1 1.3 5.6 

Artists NEC 14.5 8.8 11.0 

All Artists 9.8 10.2 10.7 

Other Professionals 6.9 9.0 8.2 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Current Population Surveys 

for May 1985, 1989 and 1991. 

TABLE 18 

CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY - AUTHOR’S SECONDARY 

OCCUPATIONS: 1985, 1989, 1991 (Percent) 

1985 1989 1991 

Author 31.8 9.2 

Actor 7.8 

Art Teacher (College) 35.0 

Designer 15.2 

Photographer 13.3 

College Teacher 25.7 

Other Teacher 26.2 14.1 

Other Writers 16.9 

Other Professional 1 7.2 8.9 

Sales 7.9 

Technicians 12.5 10.4 

Operative 33.3 

Farmer 14.9 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Current Population 

Surveys for May 1985, 1989 and 1991. 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 43 

It is interesting to note that about one-third of the artistic occupations to be held 

as a second job was that of musician. Writers, on the other hand, accounted for only 

about seven percent of the secondary artistic employment in 1985 and 1991, and 

almost thirteen percent in 1989. 

TABLE 19 

CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY - AUTHOR’S PRIMARY 

OCCUPATIONS: 1985, 1989, 1991 (Percent) 

1985 1989 1991 

Author 7.3 6.9 

Designer 3.5
 

College Teacher 13.6
 16.0
 

Other Teacher 11.5
 8.3 8.7 

Other Writers 7.6 ] 1.7 34.6 

Other Professional 3.5 22.0 4.4 

Managerial 13.8 20.3 31.9 

Administrative (non-clerical) 5.1
 

Sales
 17.5 

Technicians 9.9
 

Clerical 7.0
 11.0 13.6 

Operative 2.2 

Service 8.2 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Current Population Surveys
 

for May 1985, 1989 and 1991.
 

Non-Census Surveys 

Sources of information about authors other than national censuses are special 

studies which fall into three categories. One category includes studies based on 

general surveys of artists where a broad range of artistic occupations is targeted. A 

second category includes studies based on specialized surveys of a single artistic 

occupation such as authors. A third category is information provided by artists to a 

professional organization or union and retrieved from an organization’s 

administrative records. 

First of the two general artist surveys to be examined is the Alper-Wassall Survey 

(AW) of artists in New England.13 The second will be the Joan Jeffri survey 

undertaken by Columbia University’s Research Center for Arts and Culture’~ of ten 

U.S. locations, incorporating eight cities and two non-urban areas (RCAC). Both 

studies were undertaken in the 1980s. 

Next to be discussed is a survey explicitly designed for authors, the KingstonCole study,15 done by Columbia University’s Center for the Social Sciences for the 

Authors Guild Foundation. This study draws heavily on the definition of an author 
44 I Artists in the Work Force 

established by the Guild. This means that those included in the study were book 

authors whose work had been published. This study, while undertaken in the early 

1980s, refers to the situation of writers in the late 1970s. 

Last to be examined is information from three Writers Guild of America, west 

(WGA) studies of writers in Hollywood.16 Utilizing administrative records, the WGA 

reports provide a detailed, but limited, description of writers in the motion picture, 

television and radio industries. They are necessarily limited to the information the 

WGA maintains on its members and to what the members are required to report to 

the WGA. One of its strengths is that with readily available administrative data, 

several reports covering 1982 through 1991 could be prepared, providing a 

longitudinal study not available from any other source. 

Alper-Wassall Survey 

The AlperoWassall New England Survey studied artists in the six New England 

states in 1981 and 1982. Authors comprised 12.1 percent of the sample. In 

comparison, authors comprised 4 percent of artists in the 1980 census. Based on a 

system of self-identiflcation, 62.4 percent of the authors were "writers," 32.0 percent 

were "poets" and 5.5 percent were "playwrights" and other creative writers. 

Table 20 highlights the demographic characteristics of the New England authors 

and compares them with other regional artists. Authors average about 43.5 years in 

TABLE 20 

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW ENGLAND 

AUTHORS, PERFORMERS, AND VISUAL ARTISTS 

Authors Performers Visual Artists All Artists 

Age 43.4 39.3 39.7 40.0 

Education 17.3 16.8 16.6 16.7 

Degree (%) 

High School 8.5 16.0 15.9 15.0

Associates 2.4 1.8 3.9 3.1

Bachelors 33.2 41.1 44.0 41.8

Masters 39.3 34.9 32.9 34.3 

Doctorate 4.6 15.8 5.4 2.0 

Artistic 16.2 11.1 16.8 15.1

Training (Age) 

% Who Are 

Married 68.4 65.8 71.7 69.0 

Women 50.5 41.2 55.8 51.2 

White 97.3 97.2 96.4 96.7 

Black 1.5 1.4 0.8 1.4 

2.2 1.9 Other Race 1.9 1.4 

Hispanic 0.6 1.8 2.0 1.8

Veteran 1 9.7 1 8.2 1 4.4 1 6.0

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Alper-Wassall’s study of New 

England artists. 
 

The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 45 

age, contrasted to 40 years average age for other artists. Authors are better educated, 

with three times more holding doctorates than all artists. Writers were not likely to 

attend specialized arts schools, and relatively unlikely even to major in their field 

through their undergraduate education. 

Authors do not dramatically differ from other New England artists regarding 

marital status and racial distribution, but slightly more than half the authors are 

female, unlike performing artists, but more like visual artists. 

Alper-Wassall identified three separate labor markets that authors, and all artists, 

were likely to participate in. One was the market for their art work. A second was 

working in a job related to the arts, including teaching their art and arts 

administration. The third was working in a job completely unrelated to the 

production of their art work--the proverbial taxi driver or waiter, for example. 

Every author in the study spent some time during the year writing, but only 

about one in five were full-time writers. (see Table 21). Authors averaged about 33 

weeks of the year working as authors, about the same time spent by the other artists 

in the production of their art. Like their artistic peers, most authors with arts related 

jobs (almost 75 percent) were involved in teaching their art at some level. AlperWassail found that one in five authors were unemployed at some time during the 

year, averaging 13 weeks out of work. 

Almost 45 percent of the authors in this survey held a job unrelated to their 

writing with about one-fourth of these jobs in non-teaching professional 

TABLE 21 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW ENGLAND AUTHORS, 

PERFORMERS, AND VISUAL ARTISTS 1981 

Non-Arts Related Job 

Authors Performers Visual Artists All Artists 

Unemployed (%) 

Times Unemployed 

Weeks Unemployed 

20.4 

7.0 

12.9 

28.4 

6.6 

13.5 

17.5 

7.2 

13.6 

20.9 

7.0 

13.5 

Arts-Related Job (%) 52.0 

Non-Arts Related 43.9 

Job (%) 

64.6 

35.2 

48.8 

35.6 

53.9 

36.6 

Full-Time Artist (%) 22.1 

Artistic Hours 26.6 

Worked per Week 

21.4 

30.7 

39.9 

35.2 

32.0 

32.8 

Weeks 

Worked 

Weeks Worked 

as Artist 

45.9 

33.2 

44.8 

31.2 

46.5 

38.7 

45.9 

35.8 

’Weeks Worked in 

Arts-Related Job 

16.5 24.2 14.4 17.5 

Weeks Worked in 15.3 11.7 11.5 12.0 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Alper-Wassall’s study of New 

England artists. 
 

46 I Artists in the Work Force 

occupations. Approximately 15 percent held teaching jobs not related to their writing 

and another 10 percent were employed in food service type jobs. Often working at 

two or more jobs at a time, authors spent approximately the same number of weeks 

working as writers as in work related to writing and unrelated work combined. They 

appeared to earn more per hour from their non-writing work. 

Table 22 details the authors’ employment experiences as reflected in their 

earnings and total income. Authors’ total income, which included earnings from 

their various jobs and such non-labor income as rent, interest and dividends, was 

$17,126 in 1981 dollars, about 10 percent higher than that of all New England 

artists. It is not clear from this study where authors would have included any royalty 

income they might have received. 

TABLE 22 

MEAN ANNUAL INCOMES OF NEW ENGLAND AUTHORS,
 

PERFORMERS AND VISUAL ARTISTS, 1981 (Medians in Parentheses)
 

Authors Performers Visual Artists All Artists
 

6,351 6,327 Arts Earnings 4,271 7,527 

(191)	 (2,513) (1,400) (1,374) 

3,721 4,552 Arts-Related 5,737 5,568 (0) Earnings (0) (831 ) (0) 

Non-arts 4,134 2,939 2,535 2,841 

Related Earnings (0) (0) (0) (0) 

14,116 Total Earnings 14,771 16,383 12,938 

(10,349) (13,000) (9,185) (10,420)
 

Non-labor Income 2,270 1,245 1,466 1,504
 

(0) (0) (0) (0)
 

Artist’s Total 17,126 17,512 14,433 15,626
 

Income (12,090) (13,600) (10,568) (11,700)
 

27,233 Total Household 29,526 27,373 26,801
 

Income (25,000) (21,981) (21,000) (21,981)
 

Net Arts Earnings 2,286 4,831 1,907 2,721
 

(-221) (896) (-167) (°50)
 

7,368
 Net Total 7,980 10,474 5,795
 

Artistic Earnings (1,273) (6,154) (2,273) (3,100)
 

8,963 Net Total 10,375 11,767 7,352 

Artist’s Earnings (3,940) (7,885) (3,532) (4,600) 

11,980 Net Total 14,633 14,741 10,088
 

Artist’s Income (9,910) (10,985) (7,132) (8,757)
 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Alper-Wassall’s study of New England
 

artists.
 

Authors, like most artists, incur significant costs in order to produce their 

writing. New England authors incurred costs of about $2,000 in 1981. The impact 

on their earnings from writing was that authors’ earnings net of costs were slightly 

more than half their gross earnings from writing. 

The hourly wage rate for the time authors spent writing was estimated to be 

$2.62, less than 80 percent of the federally legislated minimum wage in 1981 which 

was $3.35. The authors’ estimated wage rate from the 1980 Census was almost $13, 

but it reflected earnings from all the jobs held and not simply from working as a 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 47 

writer. Weekly earnings from all jobs worked, which clearly do not correct for 

differences in the hours worked per week, showed authors were above average 

compared to other artists. 

However the author works--as an employee, self-employed or free-lance--he or 

she must learn about employment and writing opportunities, or must know how to 

market his/her work. More than half the authors studied by Alper-Wassall found 

writing jobs through friends and relatives. Networking through former business 

associates was a method utilized by almost half the authors in searching for a job. Of 

course, multiple methods are used in job searches at various times. For authors in 

New England these included advertisements, booking agents, private employment 

agencies, public employment offices, student placement offices, and "other." 

The marketing methods most commonly used by New England authors were 

agents, consignment in showroom or shop, shows and fairs, advertisements, own 

showroom or shop and "other." 

Table 23 highlights some demographic differences between male and female 

authors and their artistic colleagues in New England, while Table 24 examines the 

labor market characteristics of these authors and their fellow artists. These findings 

are summarized briefly here: 

TABLE 23 

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW ENGLAND 

AUTHORS, PERFORMERS, AND VISUAL ARTISTS: BY GENDER 

Authors Performers Visual Artists All Artists Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Femal~ 

Age 43.4 43.5 40.2 38.1 41 38.7 41.1 39.1 Education 17.6 17.1 16.7 16.9 16.6 16.6 16.7 16.7 

Degree (%) 

High School 8.7 8.5 18.2 12.8 18.6 13.9 17.5 12.9 Associates 1.1 3.7 1.9 1.8 2.8 4.9 2.2 4.1 Bachelors 31.4 34.6 38.3 45.1 37.4 48.8 36.7 46.4
 Masters 37.3 41.5 33.1 37.4 35.8 30.8 35.1 33.7
 Doctorate 20.5 11.2 7.7 2 3.1 1.2 6.9 2.5 Artistic 15.8 16.6 11.8 10.3 17.5 16.2 15.3 14.8 Training (Age) 

% Who Are 

Married 69.2 67.7 69.6 60.3 73.3 70.4 71.6 67.6 White 97.8 96.8 97 97.3 95.3 97.3 96.2 97 Black 0 1.6 1.7 1.2 2.3 0.7 1.8 1 Other Race 2.3 1.9 0.8 1.2 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.5 Hispanic 1.1 0 1.9 1.5 2.5 1.6 2.1 1.5 Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Alper-Wassall’s study of 

New England artists. 

Male and female writers were found to be essentially the same age. Female writers 

had less formal education than males, with male writers more than twice as likely to 

have a doctoral degree. The proportion of male and female authors married or living 

with someone who shared income and expenses was much the same as was the 
 

48 I Artists in the Work Force 

proportion of each gender in minority groups. In general women writers did not do 

as well in the labor market and were more likely to be unemployed during the year. 

Female writers were half as likely to be full-time writers as their male colleagues, and 

were found to work less time per year than male writers. 

Differences in earnings for authors in this study are available, but not detailed 

here. Generally, women authors earned about 18 percent of what male writers earned 

from writing on an annual basis, but fared better with regard to other earnings. 

Overall, though, the female writers’ annual earnings from all sources were half their 

male colleagues, while their total weekly earnings were 63 percent of what male 

writers earned. Female writers’ household income was only slight lower, 3 percent, 

than that of male writers. Most authors who held writing-related jobs taught at some 

level, with more men teaching at the college level. Male writers also were seven times 

more likely to work in managerial and executive jobs. Female writers were about 

seven times more likely to hold clerical jobs, while male writers were about five times 

more likely to hold operative and laborer jobs, a pattern consistent with that observed 

in the general population. 

TABLE 24 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW ENGLAND AUTHORS, 

PERFORMERS, AND VISUAL ARTISTS BY GENDER 1981 

Authors Performers Visual Artists All Artists 

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 

Unemployed (%) 

Times 

18 

7 

22.5 

6.9 

25.7 

6.7 

32 

6.4 

15.4 

7.2 

19.3 

7.1 

19 

7 

22.6 

6.9 

Unemployed 

Weeks 13.6 12.2 12 15.3 14.2 13.2 13.1 13.7 

Unemployed 

Arts-Related 49.5 54.2 61.4 69.1 46.6 50.6 52.2 55.5 

Job (%) 

Non-Arts 43.5 43.9 34.8 36 34.7 36.4 35.9 37.4 

Related Job (%) 

Full-Time 29.1 15 25.3 16 48.3 33.4 37.6 26.8 

Artist (%) 

Artistic Hours 28.5 24.8 32.2 28.9 38.7 32.6 35.1 30.7 

Worked per Week 

Weeks Worked: 

Overall 47.8 44.1 46.9 41.8 48.2 45 47.7 44.2 

Artist 36.2 30.5 34.7 26.3 41.3 36.5 38.3 33.3 

Arts-Related 

Job 17.2 15.9 24 24.4 14 14.9 17.9 17.3 

Non-Arts 

Related Job 16.3 14.3 11.8 11.5 11.7 11.4 12.3 11.8 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Alper-Wassall’s study of New England artists. 

Columbia University’s Research Center Arts and Culture Survey 

Another general survey of artists undertaken by Columbia University’s Research 

Center for Arts and Culture (RCAC)17 focussed on examining the work-related 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 49 

human and social service needs of artists. It was a mail survey in 1989 of artists, not 

simply authors. It covered Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. 

Paul, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, plus Western Massachusetts 

and Cape Cod. 

The RCAC study provides some valuable insights into the economic condition 

of authors, and with its similar findings to other studies it becomes part of a useful 

body of studies that confirms the uniqueness of artists in general, and authors in 

particular. 

Authors in this study were very highly educated, especially those who stated their 

major area of concentration as "writing/literature." More than one-third had 

bachelor’s degrees and more than oneohalfhad graduate degrees. Over 63 percent had 

formal degrees in arts. RCAC authors are somewhat younger, more likely to be 

women, and more racially and ethnically diverse than both the Alper-Wassall and 

Census authors. They started their training at 16.4 years, which is relatively old 

compared to other artists. Most interesting is that the vast majority, 80 percent, 

indicated that they were, at least in part, "self-taught" writers. More than 40 percent 

of RCAC authors prepared for their writing careers though the use of private teachers 

and/or mentors.~8 

Table 25 details the labor market characteristics of RCAC authors. Their 

unemployment rate was almost double the national rate. Almost 90 percent of the 

writers needed to work at some non-writing job to support their art, and nearly half 

of them held multiple jobs at the time of the survey. A significant proportion 

indicated they worked more than a standard 40-hour week. 

The authors’ income sources were varied, including working as a writer or other 

artistic endeavor. Only a minority had income from grants and/or awards, royalties, 

and unemployment insurance. (Table 26) Barely half the authors earned more than 

$500 (1988 dollars) from writing, writing-related or arts-related activity. An estimate 

of the average authors’ earnings is over $4,600, enough to cover the expenses 

associated with producing their artistic work for just 43 percent of the writers. 

Earnings from work unrelated to writing played an important role in 

determining the authors’ economic well-being. Almost half the RCAC writers had 

total income greater than $20,000, with the average income estimated at almost 

$21,700. This suggests that, on average, almost $17,000 of their income came from 

work not related to their writing or other activity and from non-labor income 

sources. 

Special Artist Surveys 

The number of studies based on surveys of a single artistic occupation are 

relatively few, which makes the Columbia Survey of American Authors (CSAA) 

sponsored by the Authors Guild Foundation so unique.~9 In addition to describing 

authors’ experiences and economic condition, it obtained information that is 

idiosyncratic to the authors. It dealt with writing genre, separating information for 

writers of children’s book, adult fiction and adult nonfiction, for example. It also 

made distinctions between different types of royalties. 
 

50 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 25 

LABOR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS 

OF RCAC AUTHORS, 1989 (percent) 

Authors(Primary) All Authors 

Unemployed 9.5 9.6 

Other Jobs to Support Writing or Other Arts Work 88.0 85.0 

Multiple Job Holder 

Hours Writing or Other Arts Work: 

0-10 

10-20 

20-30 

30-40 

over 40 

Hours Worked on Non-arts Job: 

0-10 

10-20 

20-30 

30-40
 

over 40
 

49.1 51.4 

19.9 17.5 

34.0 29.5 

20.1 21.8 

13.4 14.0 

12.5 1 7.2 

17.1 19.3 

14.6 15.7 

23.7 23.5 

26.5 25.2 

18.1 16.4 

Source: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Jeffri’s study of artists. 

TABLE 26
 

INCOMES OF RCAC AUTHORS, 1988 (percent)
 

Arts Income: 

$ o- ~oo 

501- 3,000
 

3,001 ° 7,000
 

7,001 - 12,000
 

12,001 " 20,000
 

20,001 " 40,000
 

over 40,000
 

Total Income: 

$ 0- 5,000
 

5,001 - 10,000
 

10,001 - 20,000
 

20,001 " 30,000
 

30,001 " 40,000
 

over 40,000
 

Grants - Awards Income (median) 

Royalties, etc. (median) 

Unemployment Income (median) 

Writing income exceeds costs (percent) 

Authors (Primary) All Authors 

48.5 42.5 

24.3 23.5 

7.5 10.5 

8.6 9.1 

4.4 6.5 

5.4 5.6 

1.1 2.3 

11.5 11.0 

14.3 15.9
 

29.3 32.1
 

22.1 19.9
 

13.1 11.5
 

9.7 9.6
 

$ 871 $ 838
 

(o.o) (o.o)
 

$1,374 $1,107
 

(0.0)	 (0.0) 

$62 $ 107 

(0.0) (0.0) 

42.7 43.3 

;ource: Authors’ tabulations and calculations from Jeffri’s study of artists. 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 51 

The CSAA surveyed almost five thousand writers in 1980. Approximately 60 

percent of those sampled were from the Authors Guild’s membership list. The 

remaining 40 percent were from a list of authors who had been invited to join the 

Guild, but had not done so. Therefore, this survey included only writers as defined 

by the Authors Guild’s membership criteria: Writers with at least one book published 

in the last seven years, three works of fiction or non-fiction published by a magazine 

in the last 18 months, or a writer whose professional reputation entitles him/her to 

membership according to the Membership Committee. The study excluded 

academic writers, screen writers and new entrants to the writing market. 

Findings from the Columbia survey are generally consistent with those from the 

other two studies discussed. The survey identified 40 percent of authors as being 

women. CSAA authors were well educated, predominantly white (97 percent) and 

about two-thirds were married. 

Fully 70 percent of the authors had labor earnings from work other than their 

writing. Almost half the authors (46 percent) held regular salaried positions other 

than as a writer, and 40 percent of those without regular non-writing positions 

worked irregularly at things related to their writing such as editing, translating and 

lecturing. Approximately 40 percent held non-teaching professional jobs, and an 

equal proportion held teaching jobs, mostly at colleges and universities (90 percent). 

If the CSAA authors had to live only on earnings from writing, the majority 

would be in poverty. It was the non-writing activity and the income of the writers’ 

spouse/spouse equivalent that provided total family income comparable to, if not 

better than, most professional workers. 

The typical (median) flee-lance writer earned $4,775 in 1979 dollars from 

writing. About 10 percent of the flee-lancers actually earned no income from 

writing-related activities and one-fourth earned less than $1,000. The top 10 percent 

of writers earned $45,000 or more, and the top 5 percent earned more than $80,000 

from writing. The hourly wage for writing-related work, after controlling for the 

amount of time spent, was $4.90 per hour. 

In general, the CSAA authors’ writing-related income was somewhat less than 

half their personal income. Family income for the typical CSAA author was $38,000, 

reflecting considerable work effort on the part of each author’s spouse. The 

contribution of the typical writer’s husband to the household income was about 

$26,000, and that of the typical writer’s wife about $4,000. 

One factor correlated with writing-related income was the author’s writing genre. 

Poets earned the least from books, with approximately 60 percent earning less than 

$2,500, and almost 75 percent earning less than $5,000. Authors of "academically 

oriented nonfiction" fared only slightly better with almost 70 percent having earned 

less than $5,000. Writers of genre fiction (westerns, thrillers, science fiction, etc.) did 

better. Almost one-fourth of them earned in excess of $50,000 from their writing, 

while about the same proportion earned less than $5,000. By comparison, only 15 

percent of writers of general adult fiction and 7 percent of children’s books writers 

earned more than $50,000. 

The author’s gender made a difference. Median earnings for female authors was 

77 percent of those for male writers ($4,000 vs. $5,200). This difference did not exist 
52 I Artists in the Work Force 

at the extremes of the earnings distribution, as approximately the same proportion of 

men and women earned less than $2,500 and more than $50,000 from writing. For 

"committed full-time" writers, writing genre helped explain the gender wage 

differential. Women were almost three times as likely as men to write children’s 

books, which usually don’t generate as much income as other books. 

Because the CSAA study collected information on more than one year’s income, 

a limited analysis could be made of the stability in authors’ writing income. At the 

extremes of the income distribution a great deal of stability existed. More than 80 

percent of those earning less than $2,500 in 1978 from their writing did so in 1979. 

Half those who did improve earned between $2,500 and $4,999, only a slight 

improvement. At the other extreme, almost 90 percent of the writers who earned 

$100,000 or more in 1978 did so in 1979, and of those who did change, half were 

still earning between $50,000 and $99,000. Between these two extremes, fewer than 

half the writers with 1978 writing incomes between $2,500 and $19,999 remained 

in the same income group in 1979. Approximately 60 percent of writers with 

incomes in the range of $20,000 to $99,999 were in the same income category in 

both 1978 and 1979. 

Administrative Records 

Writers belong to a variety of professional organizations, including PEN and the 

Authors Guild, but very few of these organizations have any need to regularly collect 

information on the employment or earnings of its members. Very irregularly they 

may survey their members, as with the Authors Guild’s study discussed above. 

Writers’ unions, however, do need to regularly obtain employment and earnings 

information from their members, many of whom are independent contractors, rather 

than more traditional employees. The only way their unions can ensure that they are 

being compensated according to the negotiated rates is for the members to report 

their employment activity. It is also important in establishing employers’ 

contributions to the unions’ health and welfare funds. 

Two of the largest unions for writers are the Writers Guild of America and the 

Dramatists Guild. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the only true writers’ 

union because it is recognized by the National Labor Relations Board. This is because 

it represents writers who are employees, rather than writers who are independent 

contractors or who lease their copyrighted material to others. The WGA organizes 

writers, bargains with the production companies, networks, etc., and administers 

agreements in the television, radio and movie industries. Two affiliated unions make 

up the WGA: the WGA, East and the WGA, west. The Mississippi River divides the 

membership. 

The WGA, west, the larger of the two, has been very active since the mid-1980s 

in studying the employment experiences of its members, producing three reports 

which are derived from their administrative records.2° The use of these records 

provides reliability that is not available from surveys of writers which rely on their 

memories or records. Also, there is no problem of response rate as with a survey. 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 53 

On the other hand, the information in the union’s administrative records 

probably does not provide a complete picture of the labor market experiences of its 

members. This is especially true for those writers who are not currently employed or 

who were employed part-time during the year. Other sources of labor earnings, 

whether from some other form of writing or not, are not included in the WGA 

records. Nor is any income from non-labor sources, such as unemployment benefits, 

welfare, rent, or other family members. 

New entrants into the occupation are not likely to be included. One reason is the 

initiation fee, $1,000 for WGA, East, for example. Newly employed writers who have 

not worked enough to be admitted to the union clearly are not included either. 

The union’s records do not include much background information on the 

writers’ education, training, socioeconomic background, and other elements of their 

lives that are relevant to a complete understanding of their economic condition. 

Even with these shortcomings, the three reports provide an interesting picture of 

the earnings and employment of writers in the television, film and radio industries-­

a picture consistent with what has already been discussed. 

Like the three reports written by Bielby and Bielby, the primary focus here will be on 

the employment and earnings experiences of women, minorities and "older" writers. 

It is, though, important to look first at the broader changes affecting WGA, west 

members. 

Employment of writers in the television, film and radio industries grew by more 

than 30 percent from 1982 to 1991 to almost 3,700 writers. The supply of writers 

outpaced the growth in jobs over this period. In 1985, 54 percent of the WGA, west 

members were employed in jobs covered by the unions’ Minimum Basic Agreements 

(MBA) for at least one quarter during the year. In 1991, this percentage had 

decreased to 48 percent. 

Earnings of WGA, west writers grew considerably from 1982 to 1991. Median 

earnings (nominal) for the employed writers grew almost 117 percent, from $26,100 

to $56,619. Earnings growth was not equally shared by all writers. Those in the top 

5 percent of the earnings distribution saw their earnings grow by 96 percent over the 

period, picking up momentum from 1987 to 1991. Bielby and Bielby concluded that 

the gap between the highest paid and lowest paid writers grew in the late 1980s. 

Overall WGA membership grew by 40 percent from 1986 to 1991. Female 

membership grew by 60 percent and minority membership almost doubled. 

However, the occupation is still dominated by white males, who represented 75 

percent of the employed writers in 1991. The proportion of females was 22 percent, 

and minorities, almost 3.5 percent. Older writers, defined by Bielby and Bielby as 

more than 40 years old, had a 48 percent share of employment in 1991. 

The differences between WGA, west’s earnings by gender are similar to the 

Census and other studies discussed. Throughout the ten-year period the median 

earnings of employed female writers were considerably less than male earnings. By 

the end of the decade women writers’ median earnings were $45,995, or 75 percent 

of male writers. These figures include only earnings from writing jobs covered by the 

MBA. Also, the studies do not provide information on the number of hours worked 
54 I Artists in the Work Force 

which would enable the estimation of a wage rate. 

With respect to minority writers’ relative earnings, the decade from 1982 to 

1991 was a period of considerable gain. In 1982 the median earnings of minority 

writers was $11,780, or 40 percent of those for non-minority writers. By 1991 the 

median earnings for minority writers were $48,061, or 80 percent of the earnings of 

non-minority writers. 

WGA, west data suggests that significant earnings differences exist among 

members depending on the genre in which they are working and by whom they are 

employed. In 1987 the median earnings for television writers were 22 percent higher 

than those of the median film writer, but this gap closed to 3 percent by 1991.21 

Throughout the entire period of the three WGA studies, the writers who worked 

for the major film production companies earned more than the writers in any other 

sector of the film or television industries.22 Relative to the writers who worked for 

independent film producers (e.g., Orion and Gaunt Films Ltd.) those who worked 

for the major producers (MGM, Paramount, etc.) earned 72 percent more in 1982 

and 115 percent more in 1991. 

In television the pattern was essentially the same. Writers working for the major 

producers of television shows (e.g., Columbia and Fox) earned 62 percent more in 

1982 and double in 1991 what the writers employed by independent production 

companies earned. Writers employed by the three television networks also earned 

considerably less than those who worked for the major production companies. 

With regard to earnings, the relative difference between female and male writers 

varied within the genres. Women writers’ relative earnings showed greater 

improvement among film writers than television writers. In 1987 the median 

earnings of female film writers was two-thirds that of white-male film writers. In 

1991 the gap had narrowed to 86 percent of male earnings. In the television industry 

the 1987 differential ratio was 68 percent, but improved to 77 percent by 1991. 

Within the film industry earnings of female writers fluctuated considerably 

relative to male writers, but from 1982 to 1991 showed improvement in major film 

production companies from 75 percent to 85 percent. Among the writers in the 

smaller film production companies, female earnings in 1982 were 80 percent of male 

earnings, and in 1991 were 78 percent of their male colleagues. 

The television industry saw female writers working for the major networks make 

significant gains over the 10-year period. In 1982 female writers earned 57 percent 

of male writers’ earnings, but by 1990 and 1991, female writers’ earnings were on par 

with male writers’ earnings. Women writers working for the major television 

production companies in 1982 earned 61 percent of what male writers earned, but 

by 1991 they were earning 90 percent of what their male colleagues earned. 

Minor gains were also made in the numbers of women writers employed in 

television and film industries over the ten-year period. In the film industry female 

writers were 17 percent of the writers employed at the major studios in 1982 and 18 

percent in 1991. At the independent studios female writers were about 14 percent of 

the writers in 1982 and 18 percent in 1991. In television production female writers 

for the networks moved from 24 percent of writers employed in 1982 to about 27 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 55 

percent in 1991. One of the largest gains in female employment was among the 

major television production companies where women comprised almost 19 percent 

of writers employed in 1982 and 23 percent in 1991. 

Identifying trends in earnings or employment for minority writers is made more 

difficult by the relatively small numbers having been employed at all. For example, 

in 1987 the 13 minority writers working at major film production companies earned 

40 percent of their white male colleagues’ earnings. One year later, minority 

writers--only five in number--apparently earned 135 percent more than their white 

male colleagues. Small absolute changes, but significant changes in relative terms, 

thus impact aggregate data even when utilizing medians. 

Considerable employment gains have been made by minority writers in both the 

television and film industries. Over the ten-year period minority employment in the 

major television production companies increased from 2.3 percent of total 

employment to 4.4 percent. At the networks minority representation among the 

writers increased from 1.0 percent to 4.6 percent. Absolute numbers were small, 

with just 16 minority writers at the networks in 1991, up from three in 1982. 

Minority employment at the major film studies increased from 1.0 percent to 3.2 

percent, while at the independent studios employment for minority writers went 

from 1.0 percent to 2.2 percent. The total number of minority writers working in the 

movie industry in 1991 was only 50, up from 11 in 1982. 

Earnings of minority writers in the film and television industries relative to their 

white-male counterparts were volatile, but generally trended upward. In 1982 

minority writers employed by the networks earned 55 percent of what the white-male 

writers earned. By 1991 they were earning almost 70 percent of what their whitemale colleagues earned. At the major television producers median minority earnings 

moved from 57 percent of median white-male earnings in 1982 to 93 percent by 

1991. In the film industry minority writers’ median earnings at the major film 

studios went from 25 percent of the white-male median in 1984 to two-thirds in 

1991. Gains for minority writers were greater among the independent film 

producers where in 1982 their median earnings were one-third of their white-male 

colleagues, but in 1991 were 18 percent larger. 

Writers in Other Countries 

It is interesting to note, even briefly, that general patterns found for authors in 

the U.S. tend to hold for authors in other parts of the world. International 

comparisons of authors are made difficult because few other countries except 

Australia and Canada obtain detailed information on the earnings and labor market 

experiences of the population comparable to that collected in the U.S. However, 

bearing that in mind, it is possible to observe some commonalities. 

The number of authors in other countries is also very small compared to the 

overall work force. In Australia and Canada, where census data are available, authors 

accounted for less than one-third of a percent. In the U.S. they were less than onetenth of a percent. As in the U.S., the majority of writers in Canada, Finland and 
56 I Artists in the Work Force 

Australia were men, about 55 percent of the total. In France the proportion of male 

writers is much larger, about 80 percent. In several countries, as in the U.S., the 

proportion of female writers has been growing. 

Countries with data available on schooling showed authors to be very well 

educated. In Australia 44 percent of the authors had earned the highest degree 

reported in the census, compared to 8 percent for the total work force. In Canada in 

1981, 42 percent had earned bachelor’s degrees, while only 10 percent of the general 

work force had done so. This pattern was also found for authors in Finland and 

France. 

In all the countries studied female authors’ income was lower than that of their 

male colleagues. The differential some places was considerably less than in the U.S. 

where the median income for female writers was 52 percent of male writers’ incomes. 

In Australia in 1986 female writers earned about 80 percent of what male writers 

earned. In Canada in 1980 female writers’ income was about 65 percent of male 

writers’ income. Even in Finland in 1984, where extensive public programs support 

all artists including writers, female writers had incomes that were 68 percent of male 

writers. 

Several surveys of writers in Great Britain, France and Finland confirm that 

writers there are not very different from writers in the U.S. In these countries the 

majority of writers had held multiple jobs at some point in their careers. In England 

in the early 1980s, 67 percent of writers surveyed identified writing as a secondary 

occupation. Finnish writers, too, are likely to be multiple job holders and not likely 

to be able to earn a living from their writing alone. 

Conclusion 

During the decades covered by this report, 1970 to 1990, there was a dramatic 

growth in the number of artists in the United States, with authors standing out as the 

fastest growing of the artistic occupations. According to the Census, the number of 

authors almost quadrupled, while the number of artists barely doubled. This period 

of growth saw considerable change in the composition of the occupation. At the end 

of the period women comprised half the authors when they were only one-third at 

the beginning. The proportion of non-white increased somewhat as did the 

education level, which was the highest among the artist occupations and on par with 

workers in other professions. 

The authors’ labor market experiences also underwent some significant changes. 

In 1990 they were more likely to be self employed than they were in 1970, following 

a similar trend in the labor force as a whole. They worked slightly more hours during 

the week when they were working, but worked fewer weeks during the year. 

The economic condition of authors showed some signs of improvement and 

some signs of deterioration over the period. This is true relative to all other artists and 

relative to other professional workers. While the growth in authors’ wage and salary 

earnings was considerable, it was not as large as it was for all artists and for all 

professional workers, perhaps reflecting the shift toward self employment. On the 
The Write Stuff: Employment and Earnings of Authors 1970 to 1990 I 57 

other hand, authors’ total personal income was still higher than for all artists at the 

end of the period as it was at the beginning, as was total household income. The 

largest gain made by authors was in their hourly wage rate. Its increase was greater 

than the increase for all the artists, professional workers and other writing 

occupations. As a result of some of these changes, the proportion of authors in 

poverty increased, but not as much as for all artists. 

While these changes were occurring in the U.S., some of them were also 

occurring in other countries. Australia, Canada and Finland saw growth in the 

proportion of female authors. One common element that characterizes authors, and 

artists, throughout the world is the prevalence of multiple job holding. While this is 

not identifiable in the Census data, every survey of artists and authors, whether in 

the U.S. or elsewhere, finds this to be a common trait. In most countries the majority 

of writers work at more than one job during the year. For many this involves a job 

related to their writing, such as teaching, but for others it is the proverbial food 

service job. Another common trait is that female authors, on average, earn less than 

their male colleagues. There are many explanations for this pattern, including that 

women tend to spend less time working as writers, and that they write in genres that 

are not as well rewarded. 

The authors occupation world-wide is undergoing considerable change. Future 

research targeted to the distinctiveness of writers will be needed to determine these 

patterns and the impact of the changing economic and technological environment 

within which they are working. Change is inevitable, but what direction it takes and 

how it impacts authors is yet to be determined. 

Notes 

1.	 In practice the two definitions are virtually equivalent. There is often no 

difference between the two with respect to the occupations examined here. 

2.	 The Hispanic question in the 1970 Census was worded differently than in 1980 

and 1990, thus the information reported on Hispanics may not be comparable. 

The Census has several questions about disability status. Tables 5 and 6 refer to 

those who report a disability that either limits or prevents work. 

4.	 Unemployment rates for the years between Censuses can be calculated from the 

Current Population Survey. Sample sizes are much smaller, however, so they are not 

reliable for small occupational groups such as authors. 

5.	 Because of this practice, total earnings reported in the tables may slightly 

exceed the sum of the wage and salary and self-employment earnings reported 

above it. 

6.	 One can only speculate where other types of earnings authors may receive, from 

fellowships and readings, for example, would be classified. 

7.	 For example, in 1980 total personal income was estimated as the sum of the 

amounts in each of the seven categories, yielding possible amounts up to 

$525,000. The Census capped it at $75,000. 

8.	 Comparisons of median earnings among these groups tell a more dismal story. 
58 I Artists in the Work Force 

Authors start with the highest median earnings in 1969, and then have the lowest 

in 1979 and 1989. 

9.	 The poverty line is a federally established standard constructed by multiplying 

the cost of feeding a nutritionally balanced diet by three. The poverty line 

increases with increasing family size, and is adjusted annually for changes in the 

cost of living. 

10. Beginning with January 1994, questions about multiple job-holding are now 

asked on a monthly basis in the CPS. 

11. In the 1991 CPS only nine individuals indicated their primary occupation was 

author, and that they held a second job. 

12. Stinson (1990). 

13. For example see Wassall, Alper, and Davison (1983). 

14. For example see Jeffri (1989). 

15. Kingston and Cole (1986). 

16. Bielby and Bielby (1987), (1989), and (1993). 

17. Jeffri (1989) 

18. Multiple responses were permitted to this question and others in the survey. 

19. Kingston and Cole, op. cit. 

20. Bielby and Bielby (1987), (1989), and (1993). 

21. Bielby and Bielby (1993), Table 5. 

22. Bielby and Bielby (1987), Appendix Table 4, and Bielby and Bielby (1993) Table 5. 

About the Authors 

Neil O. Alper is an associate professor of economics at Northeastern University. 

His teaching and research interests are in the area of applied microeconomics. 

Previously, Professor Alper had a joint position in the Department of Economics and 

the Center for Business and Economics Research at the University of Tennessee in 

Knoxville. He has published a number of articles, books and reports, and presented 

professional papers on cultural economics, economics of crime and labor economics. 

He received his baccalaureate degree in economics from the State University of New 

York at Stony Brook, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the 

University of Pittsburgh. 

Gregory H. Wassail is an associate professor of economics at Northeastern 

University. He has authored a number of articles on the economics of the arts and 

culture in books and journals. In addition, he has co-authored The Arts and the New 

England Economy (1989) and Artwork: The Work and Pay of Artists in New England 

(1983). He has served as a consultant to both regional and state arts agencies, and to 

state and local governments on issues facing the arts, education and tax policy. 
II. Artists Who Work with Their Hands 

A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 

by Joan Jeffri and Robert Greenblatt 

Overview 

Artists are always a product of their own times. The years covered by this report 

have seen resources developing for individual artists that have changed the 

artists’ relationship to their own growth, careers and support systems. Such resources 

have taken the form of grants, arts service organizations, commissions, and 

cooperative and commercial galleries, to name a few. The G.I. Bill after World War 

II, for example, became a turning point in the formal higher education of visual 

artists. 

Since 1970, development of the nonprofit sector on a broad scale has expanded 

opportunities for visual artists, providing many more venues to show their work. Pro 

bano attorneys, like Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, have helped inform visual artists 

about their rights, including copyright. These signs of progress, and many more, 

continue to affect the careers and living conditions of those who work with their 

hands. 

This report examines trends in the visual arts occupations of painters, sculptors, 

craft artists and artist printmakers--all of whom currently occupy one category of the 

United States Census--from 1970 to 1990 in the areas of employment, earnings and 

geographic distribution. In addition to information from the U.S. Census and related 

research monographs, information will be targeted from artist population surveys 

conducted by the Research Center for Arts and Culture at Columbia University and 

surveys by other researchers, including one commissioned by the New England 

Foundation for the Arts and a longitudinal study conducted by psychologists from 

the University of Chicago. 

As discussed in the general introduction to this overall report on artists, there are 

both limitations and advantages to Census data sets and artist survey data sets. 

However, taken together, these sources provide a broader profile of visual artists in 

the United States than has been possible before. 

A basic limitation of all these surveys is their regard of arts occupations as 

comparable to other trades and professions. Sociologist Judith Adler discussed this: 

"A study of artists in a society in which occupational membership is (fortunately) not 

defined or restricted by a guild, an academy or a state system of licensing can neither 

comfortably ignore problems of occupational definition nor resolve them."’ 

Accepting, then, an imperfect definition of art occupations, there are various 

limitations and advantages of the data used as a basis of this analysis. 

The focus here with non-census data will be the 1980s. Several surveys which 

cover different geographic locations during that decade serve to complement and 

59 
60 I Artists in the Work Force 

broaden census data. Also, by 1980, public funding at the federal and state levels had 

become increasingly important to visual artists. And the 1980s marked the "art 

boom," as journalists describe it, a time when prices for contemporary visual art 

reached an economic peak in the marketplace. Also, the visual arts provided a 

catalyst, through controversy over work by artists Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres 

Serrano, among many others, for a broad-based public discussion of the role, 

function and support of art. 

Data from the United States Census 

Multi-Categories. Those who have a particular interest in visual artists will 

acknowledge that the combination of artist types in one category not only groups 

together very different kinds of creators, but each group interacts very differently 

with the profit and nonprofit marketplaces. Their commonality lies in the fact 

that they all work with their hands. Lumping together artists whose work can 

appear in multiples with artists who work in singular objects distorts the 

information gathered on earnings (money made from a single object, a limited 

edition, or a series of multiples), hours worked (time required to produce one 

painting, one sculpture, one craft work or the original for what will become a 

series of prints, glass goblets, etc.) and even geographic distribution (access to 

equipment from suitable studio space to foundries and kilns). 

Multi-Jobs. Another limitation of Census data regards multi-jobs. It is well 

known that artists often hold two or more jobs simultaneously. Artists included 

in the Census are asked to describe their chief occupation during the previous 

week and are cited under a single occupation. While the "reference week" may 

limit the artist’s Census occupation according to the job he spent the most hours 

earning money from (i.e., taxi driving), there is no provision for his artist 

occupation to be cited. Finally, the broadness of Census categories tends to hide 

certain subtleties. (What about multi-media artists, for example?) Agencies like 

the National Endowment for the Arts seem to have understood these differences 

for funding purposes, using discrete categories which represent a broad variety of 

artists. 

Multi-Art Forms. A problem not addressed by the Census or most other artist 

surveys is the fact that some artists work in more than one art form. In the 

process of being an artist, they pursue a number of art forms until they find the 

one that best suits their mode of expression. They may work for a period of time 

in one art form and find their work evolving into expression through a different 

art form. Or they combine art forms, sometimes being labeled as multi-media 

artists and sometimes as hyphenates: painter-craftsperson, dancer-photogral~her, 

etc. Taken together with the multi-job and multi-career situations mentioned 

above, it becomes clear that accurate "artist categories" can be extremely 

complex. 

How artists are placed in Census categories is discussed in the general 

introduction to this report. A few major discrepancies regarding artists who work 

with their hands are pointed out here. 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 61 

 ̄ Artists are classified in the Census under Managerial and Professional Specialty 

Occupations with a subset of Writers, Artists, Entertainers and Athletes. Under 

 ̄ 

this are finer categories of architects, designers, etc. 

Through the decades, even within this category, at least one occupation has gone 

through a major revision according to the Census: before 1980 there was no 

category defining "craft artists," so it is not known where craftspeople were 

identified. Since 1980, the craft artist is part of the multi-category. However, 

within the finer Census categories (just as examples) there are no categories for 

Fiber Artist, Weaver, Goldsmith, Silversmith, Leatherworker, Papermaker or 

Bookbinder. Calligraphers appear in the 1990 Census category "Artists, 

Performers and Related Workers, Not Elsewhere Classified," but are not counted 

in the Census figures which report craft artists. 

 ̄ Before 1970 many of the artists in the multi-category analyzed in this report 

were classified under Artists and Art Teachers. In 1970 the category became 

Painters and Sculptors. Starting in 1980 the category became Painters, Sculptors, 

Craft Artists and Artist Printmakers. 

 ̄ Job titles under the Census category "Painters and Sculptors" included in artist 

occupations of the 1980 Census, cardpainters, music autographers and tattoo 

artists. 

 ̄ In the 1980 Standard Occupational Classification Manual under the larger 

classification "Fabricators, Assemblers and Hand Working Occupations," the 

following were listed: Hand Sewing Occupations (Embroiderers?), Hand 

Painting, Coating and Decorating Occupations and Miscellaneous Hand 

Working Occupations. There were also separate listings for Bookbinders and 

Cabinet Makers. Clearly, not everyone who fits into one of these categories 

would claim he is an artist or craftsperson, but some would. The above examples 

illustrate difficulties of inclusion as well as exclusion in Census categories. 

Discrete Surveys 

Three surveys conducted by the Research Center for Arts and Culture (RCAC) 

at Columbia University were used for this report and are summarized briefly here. 

In 1986 The Artist’s Work-Related, Human and Social Services Questionnaire 

surveyed 900 fellowship applicants to the New York Foundation for the Arts 

(NYFA) with a focus on visual artists categories in New York City. The RCAC 

administered the same questionnaire in three separate rounds of 300 artists each 

in March, June and September of 1986. In October a random sample of 50 

artists was sent the questionnaire as a control group to ascertain if fellowship 

applicants responded differently before, during and after the fellowship 

application process, since this was a universe of artists applying for money. In 

fact, there was a significant decrease in the response rate from March 1986 before 

fellowships were announced to the subsequent two rounds after fellowships were 

announced. The 900 artists represented 14 artistic disciplines. The total response 

was 561 artists or 62 percent. Of these, 163 represent artists in the painting, 
62 I Artists in the Work Force 

sculpture and crafts categories in New York City. Information from the three 

separate rounds has been aggregated here. 

2 In 1988 the RCAC conducted the Information on Artists Survey of 9,870 in 10 

U.S. locations: Boston, Cape Cod, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and western 

Massachusetts. Artists were located with the help of local, regional and national 

organizations, and the overall response rate was 4,146 or 42 percent. Although 

the sample was a random one, it is not certain that it was representative of the 

artist population, since one of the problems of artist definition is the universe 

from which the sample is drawn. Nevertheless, this information provides a 

parallel portrait to that portrayed by the U.S. Census. This report will focus on 

those artists who, when asked their major field of concentration, gave 

painting/drawing, sculpture or crafts as their first, second or third choice. 

3.	 The 1991 Artists Training and Career Project surveys focused on painters and 

craftspeople. In the craft survey 3,942 questionnaires were mailed to a random 

sample in 1990. The response rate was 33 percent, representing 1,301 

craftspeople. In the painters survey, a random sample of 2,000 painters was 

mailed in 1991. The response was 960 painters or 48 percent with 2 percent 

arriving after the data entry period, so 920 painters or 46 percent was the 

number used for reporting. 

4.	 In addition, the survey conducted by Gregory Wassail and Neil Alper for the 

New England Foundation for the Arts between 1980 and 1982 will be used. For 

this report, Massachusetts is the focal point where 8,000 questionnaires were 

sent, with a response rate of 1,281 or 16 percent. Of this response, there are data 

for 291 painters, sculptors and craftspeople from greater metropolitan Boston. 

While this sample is small, it is interesting to compare these findings with those 

of the RCAC in its Information on Artists data on Boston, bearing in mind that 

the surveys are seven years apart and do not necessarily cover the same universe. 

5. One other study needs special mention since it is the only truly longitudinal 

study done of fine artists in this country. In 1963 two psychologists from the 

University of Chicago, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jacob W. Getzels, 

undertook a study which tested, interviewed and observed at work almost 300 

junior and senior fine arts majors at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

The purpose of their study of these fine arts majors "was to find out the extent 

to which various cognitive abilities...perceptual abilities, values and personality 

characteristics are involved in the making of art that is thought to be creative.’’2 

In 1980 these scholars were able to locate 250 of the original sample of 281, 

and administer the first truly longitudinal study of artists. The response was 208, 

or 74 percent. This second study focused on "the vicissitudes of creativity in art" 

and was also "a study of young people moving into adulthood.’’3 It produced an 

unpublished report in 1984, Talent and Achievement, which provides important 

insights into the very areas tracked in this report: income, employment and 

geographical differences, as well as other areas. 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 63 

Challenges 

Occupation vs. Career. For some artists the ideas of "occupation" and "career" 

are not the way they choose to identify themselves. (Indeed, some painters 

interviewed for a RCAC project said that in their early painting days in the 

1950s, "career" was not part of their professional vocabulary; they simply "were 

painters.") Since Census and most other surveys ask artists to "self-identify" 

either their occupation, career, or both, this creates difficulties for identifying the 

targeted population. 

Professional vs. Amateur. There is a question of who is a "professional artist," 

with disagreement in the art world itself as to what constitutes a professional 

artist. The question is also raised of who are "amateur artists," who are also 

producers of art. There is no formal Academy to accredit the artist, no equivalent 

to the attorney’s bar exam to certify him. Even the university degrees of fine arts 

are not a universally accepted standard for being an artist. 

Geographic Attitudes. A "big city" bias exists for many, including many artists, 

in the art world. In most of the arts the centers of artist activity against which 

artists are always comparing themselves are New York and Los Angeles. For the 

visual artists addressed here, the primary locus seems to be New York. 

Montana painter Karen Kitchel discussed this bias: "The most widespread 

assumption in the U.S. art world is that if you’re not in New York, you’re 

nowhere...To simplify the tremendous amount of activity going on outside of 

New York City...is a transparent attempt to minimize any accurate sense of the 

creative depth, diversity or market in the United States...standards obsessed with 

regional hierarchy betray a lack of aesthetic focus and miss the point. They’re out 

of date and fail to reflect this age of travel and instant information, as well as 

artists’ diverse living and working arrangements.’’4 

An application by Arts Midwest to the NEA in 1987 stated: "Visual artists 

choosing to live in the Midwest have fewer opportunities for encouragement, 

recognition and financial support...A study of artists published in March 1987 

by the National Endowment for the Arts indicates that our region of the country 

has lost more artists than any other region over the five-year period 

researched...Arts Midwest believes that artists do not have to live in New York to 

succeed in their profession; although that city may boast an active artistic 

climate, it should not be the only place for artists to successfully create and 

market their works.’’5 

Some interesting data supplement these opinions. In the study of fine arts 

students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago previously mentioned, 25 

percent of the former students stayed in Chicago, 17 percent lived in Chicago 

suburbs and another 18 percent lived in the Midwest. Only half the artists who 

lived in New York in 1981 were fully involved in art and "at least one-third had 

given up on the practice of art entirely. "In fact," say the study’s authors, "moving 

to New York is clearly an either-or proposition: those living there are either 

committed or quit; very few remain only partly committed to art.-6 
64 I Artists in the Work Force 

In its 1988 study of 10,000 artists in ten U.S. locations called Information 

on Artists, RCAC found that of 4,146 responses, 61 percent of the painters and 

58 percent of the craftspeople received art-related training in the city or region 

where they currently reside. 

Art as a Core Activity. Howard Becket describes some of society’s attitudes 

toward the artist which complicate economic analyses: "Participants in the 

making of artworks, and members of society generally, regard some of the 

activities necessary to the production of a form of art as ’artistic,’ requiring the 

special gifts or sensibility of an artist. They further regard those activities as the 

core activities of art, necessary to make the work art rather than (in the case of 

objects), an industrial product, a craft item or a natural object...The remaining 

activities seem to them a matter of craft, business acumen, or some ability less 

rare..."v Becker goes on to describe how that core activity called art changes over 

time, painting once being regarded as skilled work and then elevated to more 

special status during the Renaissance, craft activities being redefined as art. 

Artist Focus. Some artists are considered "Creator oriented" with a focus on the 

process and creation of the work itself, and others are considered "consumer 

oriented." This is not an attempt to judge either the artists or their art, but to 

point out that the former state translates economically into limited audiences 

and low wages, according to Mary Jean Ryan in her dissertation, In Quiet 

Desperation: Professional Strategies of the Aspiring Fine Artist (UCLA, 1985). 

Research in psychology has put the economic motivation of so-called 

"starving artists" in perspective by suggesting that some fine artists may operate 

according to intrinsic rather than extrinsic activity. Joanna Stohs defines intrinsic 

motivation: the fine artist "engages in art work for reasons such as satisfaction, 

intellectual growth, or emotional or psychological goals (self-fulfillment or 

gratification). There are no references to things outside the self (e.g. income or 

evaluations by others). The activity is sought because it increases competence or 

self-determination or provides inner rewards of personal challenges.’’8 

Perhaps economic success is not of primary importance to the artists 

themselves, or at least to certain kinds of "fine artists." If this is true, measuring 

trends in income and jobs for these artists may be relevant compared to other 

professions, even other artists’ professions, but may not necessarily represent the 

artists accurately. 

Context: Education and Resources. Enormous changes have occurred in 

opportunities for education and formal training for visual artists in the country 

and in public funding. BFA and MFA Programs in Fine Arts, targeted to all the 

artist specialties covered here, were well underway by the end of the 1960s. By 

the late 1980s, a Directory of the National Schools of Art and Design listed 164 

programs. By the 1960s state arts agencies included every state and U.S. territory, 

the National Endowment for the Arts was created, and community and local arts 

agencies began strengthening their force. By the 1970s new programs targeting 

unthought-of constituencies were added to funding agencies (like the Expansion 

Arts Program at the NEA). By the 1980s agencies which funded individual artists 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 65 

(like the New York Foundation for the Arts) joined together to form a seven-state 

consortium and received a challenge grant from the NEA. By the 1990s 

arguments of freedom of expression, censorship and the relationship between the 

government and artists centered around visual artists. Other developments in 

resources are mentioned at the beginning of this section. 

Other United States Data 

Discrete surveys included in this report have a number of common 

characteristics. First, they all represent findings from artists in the 1980s. Second, 

they all relied on the cooperation of the arts institution community to provide lists 

of artists’ names. While these lists aid in constructing a profile of people who are 

considered artists, they do not identify artists who do not join institutions, apply for 

funding or use service organizations. Finally, the studies included here seek to give 

some insight into the national as well as the local picture of artists. 

For purposes of at least rough comparison with the U.S. Census, painters, 

sculptors and craftspeople are analyzed together as one category in three of the four 

studies examined by this report (artist printmakers were impossible to identify 

according to the definitional categories of the surveys.) Regarding the fourth survey, 

The Artists Training and Career Project, results were analyzed for one national study 

of painters and another of craftspeople. 

United States Census Data, 1970-1990 

This research monograph looks at one Census occupation category of visual 

artists, which combines painters, sculptors, craft artists and artist printmakers, from 

1970-1990. The accompanying tables provide the actual Census trends in 

employment, earnings, education and geographic trends by age and gender. 

General trends in the experienced civilian labor force from 1970-1990 are 

discussed in the General Introduction and include overall growth in the labor force 

and trends by gender and age. This report will concentrate on visual artists. 

Between 1970 and 1990 the total artist population more than doubled, from 

720,000 to 1,671,000. While the male artist population almost doubled (a rise of 46 

percent) from 499,000 in 1970 to 931,000 in 1990, the female artist population 

tripled from 221,000 in 1970 to 675,000 in 1990. 

Female painters/craft artists by 1990 numbered 107,920, accounting for 56 

percent ofpainters/craft artists. This compares to their percentages among all artists, 

up 7 percent from 1970 to 1980 and another 3 percent from 1980 to 1990. From 

1970 to 1980 there was over 7 percent point rate of growth for women artists, 

although the growth rate of female workers slowed after 1980. For male painters/craft 

artists, rate of growth decreased from 64 percent in 1970 to 52 percent in 1980 and 

to 44 percent in 1990 (Table 1). 

In 1970 painters/craft artists totaled 102,600; in 1980, they totaled 151,360, 14 

percent of all artists; by 1990 they totaled 191,160, or 13 percent of all artists, the 

second largest of all artist occupations, representing. 174 percent of the total labor force. 
 

66 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 1 

GROWTH IN ARTIST OCCUPATION BY GENDER, 

1970 TO 1990 (numbers in thousands) 

1970 1980 1990 

Painters/craft-artists: 

Total: 102,600 151,360 191,160 

Male 65,225 78,440 83,240 

Female 37,375 72,920 107,920 

% Female 36.40% 48.18% 56.46% 

All Artists 

Total: 720,000 1,086,000 1,671,000 

Male 499,000 675,000 931,000 

Female 221,000 411,000 675,000 

% Female 30.60% 37.80% 40.39% 

Sources: Painters/craft artists are Greenblatt’s numbers. All Artists are from 

Beresford. 

Notes: Sums for men and women may not add to totals due to rounding. 

Geographic Trends 

According to Deirdre Gaquin9 between 1980 and 1985, 41 percent of the 

population changed their place of residence. She warns that statistics for 1990 in this 

area are unreliable due to a change in urban/rural distinctions by the Census, so the 

following figures on artists and painters/craft artists are cited with caution. 

In 1980, 86 percent of male artists and 85 percent of female artists were urban 

residents. By 1990, 78 percent of male artists and 72 percent of female artists were 

urban residents. Urban dwellers among male painters and craft artists went from 90 

percent in 1970 to 86 percent in 1980 to 80 percent in 1990. 

Urban dwellers among women painters and craft artists also declined, going from 

86 percent in 1970 to 85 percent in 1980 to 76 percent in 1990, renewing discussion 

on whether artists need to work in the same geographic area where their work is sold. 

Regarding distribution of artists by Census region, male artists by 1990 had 

highest proportions residing in the West; females had highest proportions residing in 

the South. Male artists had increases in the West, up to 30 percent and male painters 

and craft artists had up to 28 percent increases in the West, where their highest 

proportions were. Their most substantial decrease was in the Northwest. 

Female painters and craft artists had highest proportions residing in the South, 

and their most substantial decrease was in the Northeast (Table 2). 
 

 

 

 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 67 

TABLE 2 

REGION OF THE EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE, PROFESSIONAL 

SPECIALTY WORKERS, AND ALL ARTISTS BY DETAILED ARTIST OCCUPATION & GENDER 

MALE 

Total Northeast South Mid-West West 

Total ECLF age 16+ 

1970 49,454,750 

100.00% 

1980 59,753,512 

100.00% 

1989 56,030,000 

100.00% 

1991 56,898,000 

100.00% 

Professional Specialty Occup. 

12,297,777 

24.87% 

12,992,230 

21.74% 

11,569,000 

20.65% 

11,635,000 

20.45% 

14,496,048 29.31% 

19,095,118 

31.96% 

13,953,000 

24.90% 

14,146,000 

24.86% 

14,164,371 

28.64% 

15,916,277 

26.64% 

19,004,000 

33.92% 

19,4888,000 

34.25% 

8,496,554 

17.18% 

11,749,887 

19.66% 

11,510,000 

20.54% 

11,624,000 

20.43% 

1970 

1980 

1990 

All Artists 

4,897,893 

100.00% 

6,247,708 

100.00% 

7,680,874 

100.00% 

1,352,854

27.62% 

1,549,503 

24.80% 

1,799,687 

23.40% 

1,269,027 

25.91% 

1,787,714 

28.61% 

2,331,516 

30.40% 

1,269,675

25.92% 

1,510,601 

24.18% 

1,712,274 

22.30% 

1,006,337 

20.55% 

1,399,890 

22.41% 

1,837,397 

23.90% 

1970 

1980 

1990 

Painters, Sculptors, 

439,025 

100.00% 

670,540 

100.00% 

733,100 

100.00% 

etc. 

132,075 

30.08% 

178,480 

26.62% 

177,540 

24.20% 

100,750 

22.85% 

174,660 

26.05% 

201,900 

28.30% 

105,325 

23.99% 

139,800 

20.85% 

137,240 

18.70% 

100,875 

22.98% 

177,602 

26.49% 

216,420 

29.50% 

1970 

1980 

1990 

FEMALE 

65,225 

100.00% 

78,440

100.00% 

93,240 

100.00% 

23,200 

35.57% 

23,380 

29.81% 

24,320 

26.10% 

12,050 

18.47% 

17,560 

22.39% 

24,000 

25.90% 

16,725 

25.64% 

16,440 

20.96% 

18,800 

20.20% 

13,250 

20.31% 

21,060 

26.85% 

26,000 

27.90% 

Total ECLF age 16+ 

1970 

1980 

1989 

1991 

30,346,855 

100.00% 

44,304,473 

100.00% 

56,030,000

100.00% 

56,893,000 

100.00% 

Professional Specialty Occup. 

7,695,838

25.36% 

9,829,878 

22.19% 

11,569,000 

20.65% 

11,635,000 

20.45% 

9,150,814

30.15% 

14,356,720 

32.40% 

13,953,000 

24.90% 

14,146,000 

24.86% 

8,371,504 

27.59% 

11,535,717 

26.04% 

19,004,000 

33.92% 

19,488,000 

34.25% 

5,128,699 

16.90% 

8,582,158 

19.37% 

11,510,000 

20.54% 

11,614,000 

20.41% 

1970 

1980 

1990 

All Artists 

3,902,317 

100.00% 

6,027,432 

100.00% 

8,939,932 

100.00% 

1,014,864 

26.01% 

1,461,084 

24.24% 

2,117,933 

23.70% 

1,149,025 

29.44% 

1,913,123 

31.74% 

2,906,372 

32.50% 

1,044,513 

26.77% 

1,517,197 

25.17% 

2,077,082 

23.20% 

693,915 

17.78% 

1,136,028 

18.85% 

1,838,545 

20.60% 

1970 158,575 100.00% 

1980 413,280 

100.00% 

1990 691,880 

100.00% 

Painters, Sculptors, etc. 

49,425

31.17% 

102,980 

24.92% 

105,000 

23.80% 

37,400 

23.59% 

119,620 

28.94% 

202,680 

29.30% 

36,700 

23.14% 

88,540 

21.42% 

133,940 

19.30% 

35,050 

22.10% 

102,320 

24.76% 

190,260 

27.50% 

1970 37,375 12,025 8,650 9,175 7,525 

1980 

1990 

100.00% 

72,920 

100.00% 

107,920 

100.00% 

32.17% 

19,100 

26.19% 

26,140

24.20% 

23.14% 

19,340 

26.52% 

30,760 

28.50% 

24.55% 

14,300 

19.61% 

21,180 

19.60% 

20.13% 

20,180 

27.67% 

29,840 

27.70% 

Sources: All Artists and Painters, Sculptors Etc. for 1990 is Greenblatt. Data for 1970/1980 are Citro & Gaquin. 1990 Professional Specialty Workers in from Gaquin. All other data is from the U.S. Statistical 

Abstracts. 
 

 

68 I Artists in the Work Force 

Age 

Trend data for age patterns is particularly difficult to assess with confidence for 

several reasons: the definitional changes of artists categories, the relatively small 

sample size for each occupation and the challenges presented in the first section of 

this report. 

Between 1970 and 1990 baby boomers entered the labor force and male workers 

declined in labor force participation, possibly due to their choosing early retirement 

and the longer tenure of females in the job force. 

Male artists were similar (but younger on average) in 1990 to all male workers 

with their median age dropping from 37-38 in 1970 to 34 in 1980 and rising to 37 

in 1990. Male painters and crafts artists had higher median ages than the general 

labor force in 1990, but were closer to male professionals, moving from a median age 

of 39 in 1970 to 36 in 1980 and 40 in 1990. 

For all male artists the largest age group was the 25-34 year olds with 31 percent. 

For male painters and craft artists, the 35-44 year old group was largest, with 29 

percent (Table 3). 

Female artists were similar (but younger on average) in 1990 to all female 

workers, with their median age dropping from 37-38 to 33 in 1980 and rising to 37 

in 1990. For all female artists the largest age group was 25-34 year olds at 34 percent, 

and for female painters and craft artists the 35-44 year old group was largest with 31 

percent (Table 3). 

TABLE 3 

AGE AND EDUCATION OF PAINTERS/CRAFT-ARTISTS, 

BY GENDER 1970 TO 1990 

Percent Age Percent with Education 

Median Age Less than 4+ Years 

16-34 55& Older (in Yrs) High School of College

Male Painters/Craft-Artists: 

1970 40.40 15.20 39.00 10.30 25.30 

16.30 36.10 7.60 35.10 1980 47.80 

1990 38.30 16.80 39.72 1.40 27.10 

Female Painters/Craft-Artists:

1970 49.50 12.10 35.20 10.90 26.10 

1980 57.70 10.90 33.00 5.00 41.70 

33.00 1990 39.50 12.30 38.57 0.90 

Sources: Data from 1970/1980 are from Citro & Gaquin. 1990 data is from 

Greenblatt. 

Education 

The post World War II availability of education in general, and for artists in
 

particular, raised the educational profile of many Americans. For artists, although
 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 69 

their educational levels were higher than the general work force, they were below all 

professionals and showed smaller percentage point increase in proportions with 

college degrees. 

In 1990, 40 percent of male artists had completed four or more years of college 

compared with 76 percent of male professionals. Forty percent of female artists had 

completed four or more years of college compared with 66 percent of female 

professionals. For male painters and craft artists by 1990, 37 percent had four or 

more years of college while 43 percent of female painters and craft artists had four or 

more years of college. Statistics on education suffer from a change in the wording of 

the Census questions and are to be viewed with caution. Also, the discrete studies on 

painters/craft artists provide a different profile. 

Employment and Earnings 

Deirdre Gaquin summarized some striking trends characterizing patterns of 

employment and earnings after World War II. During those years men in the labor 

force trended away from self-employment and toward working for private employers 

and government. Women workers were also increasingly attracted to public sector 

employment and more workers, particularly among women, were employed yearround. Median earnings for men increased 75 percent and for women, 43 percent, 

from 1950 to 1970. After 1970, real earnings adjusted for inflation declined sharply, 

particularly among women, whose median earnings remained less than half those of 

men throughout this period.’° 

The trend in employment sectors for artists differs from that of the general labor 

force in the post WW II years, as artists moved toward self employment during this 

time. In 1970, 67 percent of male artists and 69 percent of female artists worked in 

private firms; 10 percent of male artists and 8 percent of female artists worked in 

government, and 23 percent of males and 21 percent of females were self-employed. 

In 1980 self-employment was on the rise, with 60 percent of male artists and 65 

percent of female artists working for private firms, 7 percent of both male and female 

artists working for government, and 32 percent male and 28 percent female artists 

self-employed. By 1990 self-employment for artists had increased slightly with 33 

percent of males and 31 percent of female artists self-employed, compared to 62 

percent of male artists and 64 percent of female artists working for private firms and 

5 percent of both males and females working for the government. 

Painters and craft artists show still higher percentages of self employment, so that 

by 1990 nearly half of males and females were self employed. In 1970, 62 percent of 

male painters and craft artists and 58 percent of female painters/craft artists worked 

for private firms, 7 percent of males and 8 percent of females worked for government 

and 32 percent of males and 34 percent of females were self-employed. In 1980, 48 

percent of both male and female painters/craft artists worked for private firms, 7 

percent of both worked for government and 45 percent of males and 42 percent of 

females were self-employed. By 1990, 48 percent of male painters/craft artists and 45 

percent of females worked for private firms, 5 percent of males and 4 percent of 
70 I Artists in the Work Force 

females worked for the government and 47 percent of males and 49 percent of 

females were self-employed. 

In terms of unemployment according to Census definitions, unemployment 

declined for both male and female painters and craft artists from 1980 to 1990 after 

a rise from 1970 to 1980. 

For male artists, unemployment declined by almost 2 percent from 1970 to 

1990, while female artists’ unemployment declined by a full 2 percent. For male 

painters/craft artists, unemployment growth was less than 1 percent, but for females 

unemployment declined between 1970 and 1990 by less than 1 percent. 

Problems arise in measuring year-round employment for artists, and even more 

so when it comes to painters and craft artists, since the nature of employment (1) 

often is not attached to a single employer; (2) is not always characterized as 

"employment"--the sale of a painting is not employment; (3) is not always 

measurable by the standards of full-time and part-time work the Census uses (many 

artists are literally always working) and (4) does not often translate into eligibility for 

unemployment benefits (because the artist’s work time cannot be verified by an 

"employer.") The artist may be self-employed, but he also may earn most of his 

income at other work such as teaching, and declare his art income as "other." 

That females earn less than males in all sectors is obvious throughout the 1970­

1990 period. (Table 4). Male painters’ and craft artists’ median incomes fall below 

the medians for the total labor force and professionals. Female painters/craft artists’ 

median earnings are either close to or above those of the total female work force. 

The median income for male artists grew from $8,768 to $14,219 between 1970 

and 1980 and to $21,600 by 1990. For male painters and craft artists the median 

income grew from $8,893 in 1970 to $12,684 in 1980 and to $18,187 in 1990. 

(Table 4) 

For female artists the median income was $3,637 in 1970, $6,712 in 1980 and 

$11,096 in 1990. For female painters and craft artists, the median was $3,682 in 

1970, $6,612 in 1980 and $22,041 in 1990 (more than triple the 1980 figure). 

For those male artists who worked between 50 and 52 weeks per year, the median 

income almost tripled from $9,550 in 1970 to $27,961 in 1980 and went to $31,124 

in 1990. For male painters and craft artists the median income grew more slowly 

from $9,672 in 1970 to $15,112 in 1980 and to $24,320 in 1990. 

Female artists enjoyed a four-fold increase in median income from $4,152 in 

1970 to $17,328 in 1980 and then a smaller increase to $20,825 by 1990. For female 

painters and craft artists, the median went from $5,347 in 1970 to $9,344 in 1980 

and to $18,762 in 1990. 

Full-year male painters and craft artists’ median earnings exceeded that of their 

part-year colleagues, but full-year female painters and craft artists’ median income 

did not. 

In summary, by 1990 there was a larger proportion of women as painters, 

sculptors, craft artists and artist printmakers, with fewer living in urban areas. They 

had a higher median income than all artists and the general labor force, but were 

closer in median age to professionals. For both males and females, their level of 
 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 71 

TABLE 4
 

EARNINGS OF THE EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE,
 

BY DETAILED ARTIST OCCUPATION AND GENDER
 

Total with Percent with 

Total ECLF (1) Earnings (2) Earnings Median Earningsl 

Male 

Total ECLF age 16 + 

Total 

1970 

1980 

1990 

49,536,472 

59,753,512 

66,431,987 

48,593,009 

57,971,180 

62,978,000 

98.1 % 

97.02% 

94.80% 

$ 7,620 

$14,422 

$21,522 

Professional Specialty Occup. 1970 6,992,250 

1980 6,247,708 1990 7,706,256 

6,929,281 

6,153,681 

6,502,000 

99.10% 

98.50% 

84.37% 

$10,617 

$19,918 

$36,942 

All Artists (3) 

1970 

1980 

1990 

469,742 

749,200 

1,043,901 

459,822 

703,840 

984,063 

97.89% 

93.90% 

94.20% 

$ 8,768 

$14,219 

$21,600 

Painters, Sculptors, etc. 

1970 

1980 

1990 

65,225 

78,440 

101,067 

63,625 

74,680 

81,720 

97.55% 

95.21% 

80.86% 

$ 8,893 

$12,684 

$18,187 

Female 

*Total ECLF age 14+ 

Total 

1970 

1980 

1990 

30,534,658 

44,304,473 

56,041,572 

28,428,072 

41,602,227 

49,452,000 

93.10% 

93.90% 

88.24% 

$ 3,646 

$ 7,237 

$12,150 

Professional Specialty Occup. 

1970 

1980 

1990 

4,674,716 

6,027,432 

8,941,432 

4,496,380 

5,841,389 

6,655,000 

96.19% 

96.91% 

74.43% 

$ 6,030 

$11,172 

$23,113 

All Artists (3) 

1970 

1980 

1990 

201,862 

533,260 

930,707 

187,125 

464,480 

830,449 

92.72% 

87.10% 

89.20% 

$ 3,637 

$ 6,712 

$11,096 

Painters, Sculptors, etc. 

1970 

1980 

1990 

37,375 

72,920 

111,695 

34,675 

66,540 

80,240 

92.78% 

91.25% 

71.84% 

$ 3,682 

$ 6,612 

$22,041 

*Please note change in ECLF age for females. (1) From Beresford Table 1. (2) From 

Statistical Abstracts, 1992, Table 656, page 414. (3) Beresford Tables 5 &6 and 

Citro & Gaquin. 
72 [ Artists in the Work Force 

education, according to the Census, seemed to be holding steady or rising slightly, 

and many more were self-employed, with percentages much higher than other kinds 

of artists. The median income for male painters and craft artists grew more slowly 

than for the total male work force, male professionals and female painters and craft 

artists (whose median income more than tripled since 1980). Finally, using figures 

that should be scrutinized further, it appears that part-year female painters and craft 

artists earned more than their full-year counterparts. 

Discrete Surveys 

The Research Center for Arts and Culture conducted the three studies that 

follow, searching for an understanding of what artists do which is closer to their own 

perception than the Census. In addition to asking which occupation provided the 

artist’s major income and number of hours worked, the survey asked: 

 ̄ the occupation that is primary to the respondent 

 ̄ the occupation that is most important to the respondent 

 ̄ the major area of concentration 

 ̄ If the respondent considers himself/herself to be a professional artist. 

In the three RCAC surveys, 93 percent of the respondents to The Artist’s WarkRelated, Human and Social Services Questionnaire consider themselves professional 

artists; in Information on Artists, 89 percent consider themselves professional artists 

and in the Artists Training and Career Project, 91 percent of the painters and 86 

percent of the craftspeople consider themselves professional artists. 

A fourth study, the Artists and Jobs Questionnaire, commissioned by the New
 

England Foundation on the Arts and done by Wassail, Alper and McCabe, is based
 

on more traditional Census-based definitions.
 

The Artist’s Work-Related, Human and Social Services Questionnaire 

(1986) 

The major area of concentration in this study is listed as painting, sculpture and 

crafts, but since 86 percent of the 164 respondents claimed the occupation that is 

primary to them is "artist," and since there are relatively small numbers to begin with, 

these findings must be viewed with caution. 

This was a pilot study for the Research Center for Arts and Culture. Two of its 

contributions were broadening the base of investigation to a larger geographic area 

and the realization that studies which isolated particular types of artists would allow 

for a much more specific investigation. 

Age and Gender. The mean age for these artists was 38 (standard deviation 

9.969) and the median, 36. (The mean is used as well as the median age in this 

chapter because in most cases the difference of two or more years is significant.) 

Half were male and half female. 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 73 

Education. Eleven percent of these artists had some college; 23 percent had at 

least four years of college and 63 percent had some graduate education. By 

gender, 29.1 percent of males and 16.1 percent of females had four years of 

college; 55.6 percent of males and 69.5 percent of females had some graduate 

education. 

Income. Twenty-five percent of these artists earned $500 or less from their art in 

1985 while 12 percent earned over $20,000 from their art. By gender, 28.6 

percent males and 21.4 percent females earned $0-500; 26.8 percent males and 

24.9 percent females earned between $501 and $3,000; 18.8 percent males and 

21.5 percent females earned between $3,001 and $7,000; 3.6 percent males and 

10.7 percent females earned between $7,001 and $12,000; 9 percent males and 

11.6 percent females earned between $12,001 and $20,000 and 12.5 percent 

males and 9.8 percent females earned over $20,000. 

Information on Artists Survey (1988) 

Data presented here are for all artists and for the category of painters, sculptors 

and crafrspeople for age, education, income and art-related costs. These same 

breakdowns are applied to Boston and New York, two of 10 sites surveyed. Tables 5 

through 8 show data for all artist respondents from the broad variety of art fields used 

for the study. The text below will focus on the subject of this report, artists who work 

with their hands. 

 ̄ Age. The mean age for painters, sculptors and craftspeople is 38.6, the median, 37.

 ̄ Education. Table 5 displays the educational attainment of these artists. When 

TABLE 5 

INFORMATION ON ARTISTS 

Education High School High School Some College Graduate Total
 1-3 4 College Degree Degree Responses
 (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 

All Artists 0.70 2.15 16.25 42.10 38.65 Male 0.80 2.30 18.80 39.30 38.60 1664 Female 0.60 2.00 13.70 44.90 38.70 2166 "Painters, et. al" 0.55 2.65 13.05 40.60
 43.05 Male 0.50 3.20 15.90 35.50 44.80 603
 Female 0.60 2.10 10.20 45.70 41.30 1003
 All Artists: Boston 0.60 1.45 17.50 43.35 42.40
 Male 0.60 1.30 15.60 42.20 40.30
 154 Female n/a 1.60 19.40 44.50 44.50 191 Painters: Boston 2.70 8.70 44.80 43.85
 Male n/a 2.60 13.20 36.80 47.40 38
 Female n/a 2.80 4.20 52.80 40.30 72
 

All Artists: New York 0.60 1.50 12.60 41.65 43.65 Male 0.50 1.90 16.00 39.30 42.20 206
 Female 0.70 1.10 9.20 44.00 45.10 284
 Painters: New York 2.50 9.70 38.40 50.70 Male n/a 2.50 13.80 30.00 53.80 80 Female n/a n/a 5.60 46.80 47.60 126 
74 I Artists in the Work Force 

broken down by gender, of male painters, sculptors and craftspeople, 35.5 

percent have college degrees and another 44.8 percent have graduate degrees. For 

females, 45.7 percent have college degrees and another 41.3 percent have 

graduate degrees. 

Income. Table 6 shows total income as an artist and total gross income in 1988. 

For male painters, sculptors and craftspeople, individual income as an artist 

shows 25.4 percent earning $500 or less; 26.6 percent earning between $501 and 

$3,000; 14.3 percent between $3,001 and $7,000; 9.9 percent between $7,001 

and $12,000; 7.9 percent between $12,001 and $20,000; 9.7 percent between 

$20,001 and $40,000 and 6.2 percent over $40,000. 

For female painters, sculptors and craftspeople, individual income as an 

artist shows 26.9 percent earning $500 or less; 33.7 percent earning between 

$501 and $3,000; 15.8 percent between $3,001 and $7,000; 9.7 percent 

between $7,001 and $12,000; 6.9 percent between $12,001 and $20,000; 5.3 

percent between $20,001 and $40,000 and 1.7 percent over $40,000. (Totals 

may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.) 

Total Gross Income. For male painters, sculptors and craftspeople, total gross 

income is: 7.1 percent earning $5,000 or less; 12.3 percent earning between 

$5,001 and $10,000; 32 percent between $10,001 and $20,000; 20.6 percent 

between $20,001 and $30,000; 15 percent between $30,001 and $40,000 and 

13 percent over $40,000, similar findings to those for all artists in this study. 

For female painters, sculptors and craftspeople, total gross income in 1988 

is: 13.8 percent earning $5,000 or less; 21.2 earning between $5,001 and 

$10,000; 33.5 percent between $10,001 and $20,000; 17 percent between 

$20,001 and $30,000; 8.8 between $30,001 and $40,000 and 5.7 percent over 

$40,000. (Totals may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.) 

Artists’ Costs. Relevant to earnings are the costs for space to work and 

maintenance of one’s craft. About two-thirds of the respondents answered 

questions on costs. In terms of monthly costs for space, over two-thirds of the 

artists, including painters/craftspeople, paid under $500 per month for 

workspace in 1988. (See Table 7.) 

Annual art-related expenses (excluding workspace) include art supplies and 

services, tools and equipment, capital improvements, training and maintaining 

their craft, publicity, marketing, travel and shipping. For painters, sculptors and 

craftspeople, 86.2 percent of males and 78.6 percent of females spent under 

$500 on their annual art-related expenses in 1988. Another 10.3 percent of male 

painters, sculptors and craftspeople and 19.5 percent of females spent between 

$501 and $2,500. Thus in 1988 over 89 percent of these artists spent $2,500 or 

less on their art-related expenses. 

Comments and informal information indicate that, especially for visual 

artists in need of expensive equipment like kilns, often their "other"employment 

(i.e. teaching) fills this need. This information is reinforced by the Artists and Jobs 

Questionnaire done in New England in the early 1980s. 
 

 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 75 

TABLE 6
 

IOA TOTAL INCOME AS AN ARTIST
 

$0-500 $501- $3001 $7,001- $12,001- $20,001- $40,001 Total

All Artists 

(%) 

26.50 

3,000 7,000 12,000 20,000 40,000 

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 

26.55 13.75 10.30 9.45 9.35 

÷ Responses 

(%) 

4.15 

Male 25.20 24.10 13.20 9.90 10.40 11.60 5.60 1660 

Female 27.80 29.00 14.30 10.70 8.50 7.10 2.70 2165 

"Painters, et. al" 26.15 30.15 15.05 9.80 7.40 7.50 3.95 

Male 25.40 26.60 14.30 9.90 7.90 9.70 6.20 595 

Female 26.90 33.70 15.80 9.70 6.90 5.30 1.70 1002 

All Artists: Boston 29.95 28.95 13.00 8.60 8.75 8.55 2.15 

Male 29.50 24.40 14.70 9.00 7.70 10.90 3.80 156 

Female 30.40 33.50 11.30 8.20 9.80 6.20 0.50 194 

Painters: Boston 27.10 36.65 15.80 11.10 4.70 4.60 

Male 28.20 30.80 17.90 15.40 2.60 5.10 39 

Female 26.00 42.50 13.70 6.80 6.80 4.10 73 

All Artists: New York 20.95 29.90 11.15 9.40 12.00 10.30 

Male 18.10 32.40 8.80 11.30 13.70 10.30 5.40 204 

Female 23.80 27.40 13.50 7.50 10.30 10.30 7.10 281 

Painters: New York 24.95 33.10 15.10 8.20 9.60 7.60 1.45 

Male 25.30 32.90 12.70 10.10 8.90 8.90 1.30 79 

Female 24.60 33.30 17.50 6.30 10.30 6.30 1.60 126 

IOA TOTAL GROSS INCOME FOR 1988 

$0-500 $0- $5001 $10001- $20,001- $30,001- $40,001 Total 5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 + Responses (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) All Artists 8.45 15.15 32.90 21.85 11.80 

Male 5.70 11.20 31.60 23.70 14.40 13.40 1,653 Female 11.20 19.10 34.20 20.00 9.20 6.40 2,140 

"Painters, et. al" 10.45 16.75 32.75 18.80 11.90 

Male 7.10 12.30 32.00 20.60 15.00 13.00 593 

Female 13.80 21.20 33.50 17.00 8.80 6.40 995 

All Artists: Boston 7.30 13.10 31.95 22.05 14.80 

Male 7.20 6.50 34.60 19.60 16.30 15.70 156 

Female 7.40 19.70 29.30 24.50 13.30 5.90 194 

Painters: Boston 6.85 15.85 39.60 19.15 10.25 

Male 5.40 8.10 45.90 21.60 10.80 8.10 37 

Female 8.30 23.60 33.30 16.70 9.70 8.3o 72 

All Artists: New York 5.20 11.75 29.00 26.45 16.20 

Male 5.40 7.80 28.80 28.30 17.10 12.70 205 

Female 5.00 15.70 29.20 24.60 15.30 10.30 281 

Painters: New York 8.50 15.15 33.25 20.80 15.95 

Male 7.60 11.40 34.20 20.30 17.70 8.90 79 

Female 9.40 18.90 32.30 21.30 14.20 3.90 127 
76 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 7
 

INFORMATION ON ARTISTS: PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, & CRAFTSPEOPLE
 

All Artists 

Male 

Female 

"Painters, et. al" 

Male 

Female 

Boston 

~,II Artists 

Male 

Female 

Painters et al 

Male 

Female 

New York 

All Artists 

Male 

Female 

Painters et al. 

Male 

Female 

All Artists 

Male 

Female 

Painters et al. 

Male 

Female 

Boston 

All Artists
 

Male
 

Female
 

Painters et al. 

Male 

Female 

New York 

All Artists
 

Male
 

Female
 

Painters et al. 

Male 

Female 

Costs: Monthly Costs of Workspace 

$0-99 $100- $200 $300­

199 299 399 

$400­

499 

$500­

599 

$600­

699 

700+ 

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 

12.60 22.60 19.60 12.05 10.35 6.10 5.00 10.60 

11.30 19.90 17.60 13.30 11.80 5.70 5.90 14.50 

0.14 25.40 21.60 12.80 8.90 6.50 4.10 6.70 

18.60 22.60 17.40 11.80 8.70 6.10 4.70 10.05 

18.00 20.90 17.00 11.90 9.30 6.00 5.20 11.60 

19.20 24.30 17.80 11.70 8.10 6.20 4.20 8.50 

18.35 21.70 22.45 12.20 6.60 4.00 6.55 8.15 

14.90 

21.80 

22.70 

20.70 

24.80 

20.10 

12.10 

12.30 

7.10 

6.10 

3.50 

4.50 

6.40 

6.70 

8.50 

7.80 

11.00 20.50 22.65 18.50 6.80 5.50 6.85 8.20 

8.10 21.60 18.90 16.20 10.80 5.40 8.10 10.80 

13.90 19.40 26.40 20.80 2.80 5.60 5.60 5.60 

8.25 

8.70 

7.80 

16.65 

15.80 

17.50 

16.90 

14.70 

19.10 

15.15 

16.30 

14.00 

12.65 

13.60 

11.70 

9.55 

8.20 

10.90 

6.85 

7.10 

6.60 

14.15 

15.80 

12.50 

2.15 

2.60 

1.70 

14.75 

11.70 

17.80 

17.95 

13.00 

22.90 

15.90 

18.20 

13.60 

17.55 

18.20 

16.90 

9.60 

6.50 

12.70 

8.80 

11.70 

5.90 

13.35 

18.20 

8.50 

Costs: Annual Cost of Training & Maintaining Artwork 

$0­ $501 $2,501 ­ $5,000+ 

500 

(%) 

2,500 

(%) 

5,000 

(%) (%) 

69.00 25.40 3.80 1.80 

72.90 20.90 4.10 2.10 

65.10 29.90 3.50 1.50 

82.40 14.90 1.35 1.35 

86.20 10.30 1.60 1.90 

78.60 19.50 1.10 0.80 

68.50 25.85 4.55 1.10 

74.70 18.70 4.40 2.20 

62.30 33.00 4.70 0.00 

84.25 12.15 1.20 2.40 

90.50 4.80 0.00 4.80 

78.00 19.50 2.40 0.00 

64.40 25.20 7.30 3.15 

65.60 24.00 7.20 3.20 

63.20 26.40 7.40 3.10 

79.05 19.25 1.70 0.00 

81.80 18.20 0.00 0.00 

76.30 20.30 3.40 0.00 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 77 

Professionalism. Eighty-nine percent of all artists in this survey consider 

themselves to be professional artists. To gain a better understanding of how 

artists view professionalism, a three-way division was used which included both 

external and self-assessment criteria. The groups of these definitions were done 

after the data were collected to identify three main areas: 

1. The Marketplace Definition. 

The person makes his/her living as an artist.
 

The person receives some income from his/her work as an artist.
 

The person intends to make his/her living as an artist.
 

2. The Education and Aff!liation Definition. 

The person belongs to an artists’ association (discussion group, artists’ group,
 

artists’ co-op, etc.)
 

The person belongs to an artists’ union or guild.
 

The person has been formally educated in the fine, creative, literary or
 

performing arts.
 

3. The Self and Peer Definition 

The person is recognized by his/her peers as an artist.
 

The person considers himself/herself to be an artist.
 

The person spends a substantial amount of time working at art.
 

The person has a special talent.
 

The person has an inner drive to make art.
 

The person receives some public recognition for his/her art.
 

The above criteria were used in two questions, one which asked respondents to 

identify their three most important choices in rank order in considering "someone to 

be a professional artist," and another, similarly ranked, in which these "reasons apply 

to you." The figures below show the overwhelming first choice in the Self-Definition 

category. 

IOA: IMPORTANT CRITERIA FOR PROFESSIONAL ARTIST 

(When considering someone else to be a professional) 

Painters Craft Artists All Respondents 

Market Definition 18% 26.1% 23.1% 

Peer/Educ Definition 10.3% 12.5% 12.5% 

Self-Definition 71.7% 61.4% 64.4% 

IOA: IMPORTANT CRITERIA FOR PROFESSIONAL ARTIST-Self 

Painters Craft Artists All Respondents Market Definition 16.1% 36.7% 22.8% 

Peer/Educ Definition 7.2% 7.6% 9.3% 

Self-Definition 76.8% 55.7% 68.0%
78 I Artists in the Work Force 

Information on Artists: Boston and New York 

Boston had an artist population of 20,839 in 1980 according to the Census. The 

’80s were a time for increased public funding through the Massachusetts Council for 

the Arts and Humanities and progress on many levels for artists. The number of 

artists of all kinds surveyed in Boston total 350; of those 157 were 

painters/sculptors/craftspeople, the focus of the data below. 

Age. The mean age for all Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople is 36.4; the 

median age, 35. 

Education. For male Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople, 36.8 per~:ent 

have college degrees, 47.4 percent have graduate degrees; for females 52.8% have 

college degrees, 40.3 percent have graduate degrees (Table 5). 

Income as Artists. For male Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople, 

individual earnings as an artist look like this for 39 respondents: 28.2 percent 

earning $500 or less; 30.8 percent earning between $501 and $3,000; 17.9 

percent earning between $3,001 and $7,000; 15.4 percent earning between 

$7,001 and $12,000; 2.6 percent earning between $12,001 and $20,000; 5.1 

percent earning between $20,001 and $40,000 and no one earning over $40,000 

(Table 6). 

For female Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople, individual earnings 

look like this for 73 respondents: 26 percent $500 or less; 42.5 percent earning 

between $501 and $3,000; 13.7 percent earning between $3,001 and $7,000; 

6.8 percent earning between $7,001 and $12,000; 6.8 percent earning between 

$12,001 and $20,000; 4.1 percent earning between $20,001 and $40,000 and 

no one earning over $40,000.11 

Total Gross Income. For 37 male Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople, 

total gross income in 1988:5.4 percent earned less than $5,000; 8.1 percent 

earned between $5,001 and $10,000; 45.9 percent between $10,001 and 

$20,000; 21.6 percent between $20,000 and $30,000; 10.8 percent between 

$30,000 and $40,000 and 8.1 percent over $40,000 (Table 6). 

For 72 female Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople, total gross income 

in 1988:8.3 percent earned less than $5,000; 23.6 percent earned between 

$5,001 and $10,000; 33.3 percent between $10,001 and $20,000; 16.7 percent 

between $40,000 and $30,000; 9.7 percent between $30,001 and $40,000 and 

8.3 percent over $40,000. 

Artists’ Costs. Of 21 male Boston painters, sculptors and craftspeople and 41 

females, virtually all pay less than $2,500 in annual art-related expenses. Over 

three-quarters of male and female members of these professions pay less than 

$400 a month for workspace (Table 7). 

New York 

The artist population of New York City, according to the 1980 U.S. Census, was
 

112,954. Of these 15,640 were painters, sculptors, craft artists and artist
 

printmakers. The number of all artists surveyed in New York totals 485, of which 290
 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 79 

were painters, sculptors and craftspeople. The 1980s saw a huge infusion of money 

in the for-profit art market arena with prices soaring for visual art. There was an 

explosion of East Village galleries and commercial spaces in Soho, Noho and Tribeca 

as the line between profit and nonprofit spaces became thinner. Museums asked 

avant-garde artists to donate one-of-a-kind objects for reproduction, coming 

perilously closer to commercial activity. Non-mainstream museums collaborated on 

shows featuring a range and breadth of artists new to many New Yorkers. New York 

was considered by many the seat of the art market. 

Age. The mean age for all New York painters, sculptors and crafispeople is 37.6 

percent; the median age is 36. 

Education. Table 5 details the spread between males and females for college 

degrees for painters, sculptors and craftspeople, with 30 percent of the males and 

46.8 percent of the females having college degrees. At the graduate level 53.8 

percent of the males have graduate degrees, and 47.6 of the females. 

Income as Artists. Individual earnings as an artist look like this for 79 male New 

York painters, sculptors and crafispeople: 25.3 percent earning $500 or less; 32.9 

percent earning between $501 and $3,000; 12.7 percent earning between $3,001 

and $7,000; 10.1 percent earning between $7,001 and $12,000; 8.9 percent 

earning between $12,001 and $20,000; 8 percent earning between $20,001 and 

$40,000 and 1.3 percent earning over $40,000. 

For 126 female New York painters/craftspeople, individual earnings look like 

this: 24.6 percent earning $500 or less; 33.3 percent earning between $501 and 

$3,000; 17.5 percent earning between $3,001 and $7,000; 6.3 percent earning 

between $7,001 and $12,000; 10.3 percent earning between $12,001 and 

$20,000; 6.3 percent earning between $20,001 and $40,000 and 1.6 percent 

earning over $40,000.12 

Total Gross Income. For all 79 male New York painters/craftspeople, total gross 

income in 1988:7.6 percent earned less than $5,000; 11.4 percent earned 

between $5,001 and $10,000; 34.2 percent between $10,001 and $20,000; 20.3 

percent between $20,001 and $30,000; 17.7 percent between $30,001 and 

$40,000 and 8.4 percent over $40,000. 

For all 127 female painters/craftspeople, total gross income in 1988:9.4 

percent earned less than $5,000; 18.9 percent earned between $5,001 and 

$10,000; 32.3 percent between $10,001 and $20,000; 21.8 percent between 

$20,001 and $30,000; 14.2 percent between $30,001 and $40,000 and 3.9 

percent over $40,000. 

Artists’ Costs. Of 44 male New York painters, sculptors and craftspeople and 59 

females, virtually all pay less than $2,500 in annual art-related expenses. Of 77 

males, over half pay less than $400 a month for workspace, while over half of the 

118 females pay less than $400 per month for workspace (Table 7). 

Artists Training and Career Project (ATC)-1990-91 

 ̄ Age, Gender, Ethnic Background. The mean age for all painters and 

craftspeople from this 1990-91 survey, to which 960 painters and 1,301 craft 
80 I Artists in the Work Force 

artists responded, is 43.1 for painters and 43.4 for craftspeople. (Standard 

deviation 11.5-12.3.) The median age is 41 for both painters and craftspeople. 

As to gender, 58 percent of the painters and 54 percent of the craftspeople are 

female, while 42 percent of the painters and 46 percent of craftspeople are male. 

Median age for male painters is 38 and for craftsmen, 42. Median age for female 

painters in 40 and for craftswomen, 41. 

Regarding ethnic background, for painters 86 percent are white, fewer than 

2 percent are American Indian, more than 2 percent are Asian, 3 percent are 

black, fewer than 2 percent are Hispanic and 5 percent are "other." For 

craftspeople, 92 percent are white, fewer than 1 percent American Indian, 1 

percent each Asian and Hispanic, more than 1 percent black, and 5 percent 

"other." 

Education. Regarding degrees, 40.6 percent of the painters have a college degree 

and 42.5 percent a graduate degree; 38.3 percent of the craftspeople have a 

college degree and 33.6 a graduate degree. By gender, 33.4 percent of male 

painters and 45.7 percent of women painters, and 31.5 percent of male 

craftspeople and 45.2 percent of female craftspeople have a college degree; 45.6 

percent of male painters, 34.2 percent of male crafispeople, 40.2 percent of 

female painters and 33 percent of female craftspeople have graduate degrees 

(Table 8). 

Income as Artists. For painters in 1990, 56 percent of the males and 62 percent 

of the females earned less than $3,000 as artists, and 65 percent of the males and 

78 percent of the females earned less than $7,000 as artists. For crafispeople in 

1989, 36 percent of the males and 39 percent of the females earned less than 

$3,000 as artists and 47 percent of the males and 53 percent of the females 

earned less than $7,000 as artists (Table 8). 

Total Gross Income. For male painters in 1990, 8.6 percent earned under 

$5,000; 13.3 percent earned between $5,001 and $10,000; 25.1 percent earned 

between $10,001 and $20,000; 20.2 percent earned between $20,001 and 

$30,000; 14.4 percent earned between $30,001 and $40,000; 16.7 percent 

earned between $40,001 and $60,000 and 1.7 percent earned over $60,000. 

For female painters in 1990, more than one third earned under $10,000; 

26.7 percent earned between $10,001 and $20,000; 19.8 percent earned 

between $20,001 and $30,000; 10.8 earned between $30.001 and $40,000; 7.5 

percent earned between $40,001 and $60,000 and 1.3 percent earned over 

$60,000. 

For male craftspeople in 1989, 11.5 percent earned under $5,000; 6.1 

percent earned between $5,001 and $10,000; 14.3 percent earned between 

$10,001 and $20,000; 17 percent earned between $20,001 and $30,000; 19.1 

percent earned between $30,001 and $40,000, 32 percent earned over $40,000. 

For female craftspeople in 1989, 19.8 percent earned under $5,000; 14.3 

percent earned between $5,001 and $10,000; 21.8 percent earned between 

$10,001 and $20,000; 18 percent earned between $20,001 and $30,000; 11.1 

percent earned between $30,001 and $40,000, 15 percent earned over $40,000. 
 

Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 81 

TABLE 8
 

ARTISTS TRAINING & CAREER PROJECT: PAINTERS & CRAFTS ARTISTS
 

Education High High Some College Graduate School School College Degree Degree 1-3 4 

Painters (total) 0.60 3.20 13.00 40.60 42.50 Male 1.40 3.80 15.30 33.40 45.60 Female 0.00 2.80 11.40 45.70 40.20 Craft Artists (total) 0.60 7.10 19.60 38.35 33.60 Male 0.80 9.30 23.70 31.50 34.20 Female 0.40 5.30 10.00 45.20 33.00 

TOTAL INCOME AS AN ARTIST: 

$0­

500 

$501 

3,000 

$3,001 

7,000 

$7,001 

12,000 

$12,001 

20,000 

$20,001 

40,000 

$40,000 

Painters (1990) Male 

Female 

Craft Artists (1989) 

Male 

Female 

27.90 

22.80 

31.60 

20.50 

21,80 

18.20 

29.00 

27.10 

30.30 

18.10 

14.40 

21.20 

15.70 

15.10 

16.20 

12.60 

11.10 

13.80 

9.90 

8.50 

10.90 

8.30 

6.40 

9.80 

7.70 

9.70 

6.10 

11.80 

10.30 

13.10 

6.20 

9.70 

3.70 

13.80 

15.00 

12.80 

3.60 

7.10 

1.00 

15.90 

21.70 

11.00 

TOTAL GROSS INCOME FOR1988: 

Painters (total) 

Male 

Female 

Craft Artists (total) 

Male 

Female 

$0­

5,000 

14.00 

8.60 

17.90 

15.90 

11.50 

19.80 

$5,001 

10,000 

14.90 

13.30 

16.00 

10.50 

6.10 

14.30 

$10,001 

20,000 

26.00 

25.10 

26.70 

18.30 

14.30 

21.80 

$20,001 

30,000 

20.00 

20.20 

19.80 

17.50 

17.00 

18.00 

$30,001 

40,000 

12.30 

14.40 

10.80 

14.80 

19.10 

11.10 

$40,000 

+ 

12.90 

18.40 

8.80 

22.80 

32.00 

15.00 

GROSS HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR 1988: 

$0­

5,000 

$5,001 

10,000 

$10,001 

20,000 

$20,001 

30,000 

$30,001 

40,000 

$40,000 

+ 

Painters (total) Male 

Female 

Craft Artists (total) 

Male 

Female 

4.30 

4.10 

4.40 

12.35 

11.50 

13.20 

8.10 

8.60 

7.80 

3.35 

2.80 

3.90 

15.20 

18.00 

13.20 

9.70 

9.70 

9.70 

19.30 

20.10 

18.70 

15.00 

15.10 

14.90 

16.30 

16.60 

16.20 

15.65 

15.00 

16.30 

36.70 

32.50 

39.70 

44.00 

45.90 

42.10 

Table 9 shows total gross household income for these artists.
 

Professionalism. In this survey 91.2 percent of the painters and 85.7 percent of
 

the craftspeople consider themselves professionals. (See Information an Artists
 

Survey on professionalism discussed earlier for criteria and definitions.)
 

Artists and Jobs Questionnaire-1980 

This study commissioned by the New England Foundation for the Arts will be 

briefly summarized here. Its findings are for 291 painters, sculptors and craftspeople 

from the Boston area. 
82 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 9 

ARTISTS AND JOBS QUESTIONNAIRE (1980) 

Income as Artists 

$0-500	 $501- $3001 $7,001- $12,001- $20,001- $40,001 Total 

3,000 7,000 12,000 20,000 40,000 + Responses 

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 

9.60	 3.10 5.15 1.50 255 All Artists 43.00 24.50 13.15 

Male 37.00 20.00 14.00 14.00 3.00 9.00 3.00 100
 

Female 49.00 29.00 12.30 5.20 3.20 1,30 0.00 155
 

Total Gross Income $0- $5,001 $10,001 $20,001 $30,001 $40,000 Total 

5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 + Responses 

All Artists 17.75 31.85 60.50 9.80 7.00 6.05 243 

6.10	 96 Male 12.10 27.30 29.30 13.10 12.10 

Female 23.40 36.40 31.20 6.50 1.90 6.00 147 

Total Gross 

$5,001 $20,001 $40,000 Tota~ Household Income $0- $10,001 $30,001 

40,000 Responses 5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000 + 

24.90	 17.15 17.00 15.15 241 All Artists 5.45 20.40 

5.10 22.20 22.20 20.20 14.10 16.20 96 Male 

5.80 18.60 27.60 14.10 19.90 14.10 145 Female 

 ̄ Age and Gender. The mean age for 287 Boston painters/craftspeople is 37.3; the 

median is 34. For males, the mean age is 36.3; the median, 33. For females, the 

mean is 38.7; the median, 35.5 

 ̄	 Education. For male Boston painters/craftspeople 8.4 percent have a high school 

education; 28 percent some college; 45.8 percent a college degree and 57.9 percent 

a graduate degree. For females, 16.5 percent have some college; 47.4 percent a 

college degree and 62.9 percent have a graduate degree. 

 ̄ Income. Income as artist and total gross income for Boston area artists is seen in 

Tables 6 and 7 and will not be detailed separately here. Analysts of the findings 

on income seemed shocked at what artists earn, commenting "Find out why 

these artists earn so little." Proof of such meager earnings: for half the males and 

almost one-third of these female artists worked a full year to earn under $500 

from their art. 

Discrepancies 

Why is there a discrepancy between the findings of all these discrete surveys and 

the Census in the area of education? Recalling the definitional problems of the 

Census and examples of tattoo artists and cardpainters being included as painters, 

one can see how the numbers become inflated with people whose data cannot be 

accurate markers for a large segment of the arts, whose information seems to be out 

of sync with everything else known. In fact, most studies of artists during the last 10 

years, outside of the Census, have clearly established the high degree of formal 

education, as well as its lack of corresponding income. 
Artists Who Work with Their Hands A Trend Report, 1970 to 1990 I 83 

Conclusion 

Figures that emerge from non-Census data about painters and craft artists 

described here are closer to the Census figures for Professional Specialty Occupations. 

Information gathered from every independent U.S. study reviewed here indicates a 

huge discrepancy between what researchers have identified directly from artists, and 

results from the 1990 Census. This is an area warranting substantial further 

investigation. 

Another important area for inquiry, and one that has rarely been addressed, is the 

income of artists who have abandoned art as an occupation compared to those who 

have stuck with it. In Talent and Achievement, the authors report that "for both men 

and women, the household income of those who had abandoned fine art by mid-life 

is higher than the income of those still involved.’’13 In addition, the range of 

individual earnings for those artists who remained involved in fine art was $500­

$80,000, "either a feast or a famine.’’14 The ranges in Research Center Studies were 

similar. 

Many characteristics of artists emerge which have been explored by independent 

researchers and which bear continued attention. The authors of Talent and 

Achievement note that of the artists they studied, "at least since their early twenties, 

young people interested in art show a remarkable determination to shape their own 

destiny.’’~5 In addition, they comment on art as a profession: "Art differs from other 

occupations in that artists must find their jobs within themselves...the modern artist 

is expected to develop the content and the rules of his profession from within. 

External signposts are few, and ambiguous...’’16 By focusing solely on measures like 

earnings and education, analysis of artists is limited to "conventional goals of 

affluence and status" in the "roles prescribed by society.’’~v 

What the discrete surveys offer is another view targeting the artist population 

more narrowly than the Census and suggesting additional ways of looking at how 

artists view their occupations. These surveys also identify other areas of inquiry that 

broaden the picture of the artist in society. Finally, they indicate the need for a regular 

survey of artists, if possible, by the National Endowment for the Arts, which 

combines the more relevant aspects of the Census with other areas of inquiry, some 

of which have been identified in this document. 

Further investigation is needed to compare other data sets and sources to the 

Census findings, and to provide a broader landscape in which to think about artists 

in ways which are valuable to society, the government and to the artists themselves. 

Notes 

1.	 Judith Adler, "Artists Job Market Experiences," Journal of Arts Management and 

La~, 13:3 (1983), pp. 177-182. 

2.	 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Jacob W. Getzels and Stephen P. Kahn, Talent and 

Achievement (Chicago, 1984) an unpublished report, p. 1. 

3. ibid. p. 10. 
84 I Artists in the Work Force 

4.	 Karen Kitchel, "Speakeasy." New Art Examiner, Summer 1992, pp. 13-15. 

5.	 C. Lynn Cowan, "The Artists’ Condition from the Regional Perspective," in 

C.Richard Swaim (ed.), The Modern Muse: The Support and Condition of Artists 

(New York: ACA Books, 1989), pp. 33-45. 

6.	 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Jocob W. Getzels and Stephen E Kahn, Talent and 

Achievement (Chicago, 1984) an unpublished report, p. 44-45. 

7. Howard Becker, Artworlds. (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982), 

pp. 16-17. 

8. Joanna H. Stohs, "Intrinsic Motivation and Sustained Art Activity Among Male 

Fine and Applied Artists," Creativity Research Journal, 1992, Vol. 5, p. 247. 

9. Gaquin, Deidre, Constance Citro. Artists in the Workforce, 1950 to 1985. Research 

Division of the NEA, Washington DC. p. III-2. 

10. ibid, p. V-1. 

11 and 12. Numbers may not equal 100 percent due to rounding. The small 

numbers in this analysis must be taken with extreme caution; they are included 

here for their site-specific purposes, and because comparisons with larger studies 

indicate directions for the future. 

13.	 Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, Jacob W. Getzels and Stephen E Kahn, Talent and 

Achievement (Chicago, 1984) an unpublished paper, p. 305. 

14. Ibid. p.306. 

15, 16 and 17. Ibid. 483. 

About the Authors 

Joan Jeffri is the founder and director of the Research Center for Arts and 

Culture at the School of the Arts at Columbia University, and the coordinator of the 

Graduate Program in Arts Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

She is the author or editor of numerous studies on individual artists, as well as texts 

in the arts management field, including Artsmoney: Raising It, Saving It, and Earning 

It (University of Minnesota, 1989) and The Emerging Arts: Management, Survival, 

and Growth (Praeger, 1980). Her books on artists include a series of interview books: 

TheActor Speaks, The Crafisperson Speaks and The Painter Speaks (Greenwood, 1992, 

1993, 1994). For nine years she was an Executive Editor of The Journal of Arts 

Management and Law. 

Robert Greenblatt has worked as a consultant in communications, computer 

resources, survey design and analysis, and systems design for a diverse group of clients 

including Columbia University’s Research Center for Arts and Culture, the American 

ORT Federation and the Palacio de Queluz in Portugal. He has taught mathematics, 

political science and quantitative research at Pace University, Brooklyn College, the 

State University of New York and Cornell University. He has a Ph.D. in 

Mathematics from Yale University. 
III. Employment and Earnings of 

Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 

by Ann O. Kay and Stephyn G. W. Butcher 

Overview 

Artists, as a group, participate in the economy in a way unparalleled by the rest 

of the work force. Most workers are involved in creating the daily necessities of 

life. But artists are different. They participate in the creation of the culture. From 

architects to dancers, authors to actors, sculptors to musicians, no other group’s 

impact is more immediate and pervasive, creating work spaces, homes, music, books, 

magazines, ads, artwork, television programs and movies. 

The significance of artists in the work force increased dramatically from 1970 to 

1990. In 1970 artists numbered 736,960 or 0.9 percent of the experienced civilian 

labor force (Table 1). By 1980 artists’ numbers had jumped to 1,085,693, growing 

TABLE 1 

EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN, PROFESSIONAL SPECIALTY, ARTIST AND 

PERFORMING ARTIST LABOR FORCES. 1970, 1980, AND 1990. 

1970 1980 1990 

Experienced Civilian Labor Force (ECLF) 79,801,605 104,057,985 122,473,499 

Professional Specialty Occupations 8,800,210 12,275,140 16,647,688 

Artist Occupations 736,960 1,085,693 1,671,277 

Performing Artist Occupations 147,138 220,930 279,506 

Professionals as a percent of ECLF 11.0% 11.8% 13.6% 

Artist Occupations as a percent of ECLF 0.9% 1.0% 1.4% 

Artist Occupations as a percent of Professionals 8.4% 8.8% 10.0% 

Performing Artists as a percent of Artists 20.0% 20.3% 16.7% 

Source: Ellis and Beresford, 1994. 

47.3 percent over the decade. Part of this increase reflected the overall labor force 

growth due to baby boomers continuing to enter the labor force, and an increased 

number of women working. But the artist growth rate also reflected the increasing 

importance of the professional specialty occupations and the service sector in the 

U.S. economy. This trend continued during the 1980s, boosting the artist 

occupation numbers by 4.4 percent a year (Table 2). By 1990 there were more artists 

as a whole and as a proportion of the experienced civilian labor force and professional 

specialty occupations. The mixture of artist types changed during these two decades. 

Performing artists - actors/directors, musicians/composers and dancers - fell from 23 

percent of all artists in 1970 to 18 percent by 1990. During this time, "word" artists 

and visual and design artists occupations grew faster. However, the number of 

performing artists still increased at an annual average rate of 3.3 percent from 1970 

85 
 

86 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 2 

GROWTH RATES OF THE EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN, PROFESSIONAL 

SPECIALTY, ARTIST & PERFORMING ARTISTS LABOR FORCES. 

1970 TO 1990 

1970-1980 1980-1990 1970-1990 

Overall Growth Rate 

Experienced Civilian Labor Force (ECLF) 30.4% 17.7% 53.5% 

Professional Specialty Occupations 39.5% 35.6% 89.2% 

Artist Occupations 47.3% 53.9% 126.8% 

Performing Artists Occupations 50.2% 26.5% 90.0% 

Average Annual Growth Rate 

Experienced Civilian Labor Force (ECLF) 2.7% 1.6% 2.2% 

Professional Specialty Occupations 3.4% 3.1% 3.2% 

Artist Occupations 4.0% 4.4% 4.2% 

Performing Artists Occupations 4.1% 2.4% 3.3% 

Growth rates calculated from labor force data in previous table. 

to 1990, surpassing the growth rate of the national and professional specialty labor 

force. 

Data Sources and Conceptual Issues 

This report examines trends in the employment and earnings of performing 

artists and their geographic distribution from 1970 to 1990. It uses three sources for 

data: Census, survey and pension data. Each of these data sources has advantages and 

disadvantages which are discussed in the general introduction to this book and will 

not be repeated here. 

The Census data used is not from the Census form sent to most households, but 

from the Census long form questionnaire which is sent to about 15.9 percent of U.S. 

households. The long form has detailed questions about work history: occupation, 

sector, industry, last job held, current labor force status, weeks worked last year, usual 

work hours last year and detailed income from last year. The Census makes this data 

available to the public in the form of various sample subsets which include all the 

information except that which would identify the individual or household that 

provided it. 

Most of the analysis in this report is based, directly or indirectly, on the 5 percent 

PUMS or "Sample A" containing information on the population and households 

representing 5 percent of the total U.S. population (a subset of the 15.9 percent who 

received the Census long form). Since the 1980s, The National Endowment for the 

Arts has constructed "Artist Extract Files" from these PUMS files created by the 

Census. The Artist Extract Files (AEF) are subsets of the PUMS that cover all those 

persons in the PUMS who listed their occupation as one in the arts. The data for 

1970 in this report are based on Muriel Cantor’s Employment Status of Perfarming 

Artists: 1970 to 1980 (Cantor, 1987) which used the AEF files. The 1980 and 1990 

data are from the authors’ analyses of the AEF files. In all cases the actual counts 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 87 

which are the result of samples have been "normalized" to the actual Census counts 

for the occupation as a total. 

The main difficulties with using Census data to study the performing arts 

occupations are conceptual. The conclusions reached throughout this report are 

indicative rather than definitive for several reasons. The Census classifies the 

occupation of a worker according to the job he or she had the week previous to 

Census Day, April 1. (Not all respondents fill out the form on April 1, but this report 

ignores such variations and denotes the reference week as "Census Week.") If the 

worker had more than one job, the one at which he or she worked the most hours 

determines the job classification. If the worker is unemployed or not in the labor 

force, the occupation is classified as the last one held by the person. 

For performing artists, this can be problematic. With irregular work cycles and 

work availability, not all performing artists will be working in performing arts 

occupations the week before Census Day. If this is so, or if most of their hours that 

week were not at a performing arts job, then they are not counted as performing 

artists. While excluding those "career" performing artists, the Census by design will 

include some "hobbyists" who happened to have earnings from their performing arts 

hobby during Census week - further blurring the head count. 

All of the employment and earnings information available from the Census 

becomes attached to the occupation in which the worker was classified. The Census 

does not clarify whether all the hours worked Census week were in an artist 

occupation, or if all the weeks worked or income received last year were in 

performing artist occupations. Therefore, when this report speaks of "actors’ or 

dancers’ earnings," not all the earnings will necessarily have come from acting or 

dancing. 

Performing Artist Surveys 

The second source of information on performing artists used in this report is 

from national surveys conducted by Ruttenberg et al. in 1977 and 1980. Members 

of the largest performing arts unions were surveyed about their careers and specific 

problems they experienced in the labor markets. Questions were tailored to the 

performing arts and therefore elicited answers much more illustrative of the work 

experience of such artists. 

The main disadvantage with the surveys is that the universe is restricted to union 

members and it is impossible to determine how their results compare with Census 

data where criteria for membership in a performing arts occupation differ. Because it 

is difficult to generalize the survey results to the performing artist labor force overall, 

the surveys are used mostly to clarify points upon which the Census is silent. 

Union Pension Records 

The third source of data used here is from pension and membership records for 

1990 and 1992 from the three principal actors’ unions: Screen Actors Guild (SAG), 
88 I Artists in the Work Force 

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and American Federation of Television and Radio 

Artists (AFTRA). (AFTRA excluded data on non-actor occupations represented by 

the union.) The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the primary musicians’ 

union, also provided some pension information on average earnings. These unions 

and the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees cooperated in producing 

this data, which contains no personal identification information on individuals. 

The pension and membership data show wage earnings solely from acting work, 

unlike the Census. As with the surveys, the universe is restricted to union members. 

However, through judicious use, these records supply a piece of the picture that is 

missing in Census data on performing artists. Using all the information available, it may 

not be possible to see the entire picture, but its outlines will be more dearly discernible. 

Employment and Earnings Analysis 

To identify trends in the performing arts occupations, this report examines the 

employment and earnings characteristics of these artists. In chief, these characteristics 

are labor force status, geographic distribution, class of employment, industry of 

employment, hours worked last week and usual hours last year, weeks worked last 

year and earnings. This study works with two universes. The first is based on current 

labor force status as of Census Week: employed, unemployed and not a participant. 

This universe or subsets of it will be used for geographic distribution, class of 

employment and industry of employment. The second universe is based on the work 

history for the previous year, regardless of whether the individual was employed, 

unemployed or not in the labor force at Census time. This universe is used for all 

characteristics based on the year previous to the Census, weeks and hours of work 

and earnings. (This second universe offers a richer data source than the one limited 

to Census week.) 

Each of these economic characteristics will be examined as of the 1990 Census and 

then, using the 1970 and 1980 Censuses and other data, the trends will be described. 

For the 1980 Census the Bureau of the Census created a new category of actors 

and directors to replace the former actors category. Although this means comparable 

data are not available over the entire 20-year span for actors-directors, some 

interesting trends are nonetheless brought to light. 

It bears repeating that Census counts are probably undercounts of the numbers 

of performing artists. Based on the Census long form questionnaire, the respondent’s 

occupation is the one in which he or she had worked the most hours the week prior 

to the Census. In 1980 Ruttenberg et al. found that the preponderance of all 

performing artists, except dancers, held jobs outside the performing arts and worked 

more in those other jobs (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; pp. 64, 81). 

Labor Force Status 

In 1990 the Census counted 109,573 experienced civilians in the labor force 

working in the actors and directors occupation, about 39 percent of all performing 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 89 

artists in the labor force (see Table 3). This represented a 63 percent increase over 

1980 and a 173 percent increase since 1970. (The estimated number of actors and 

directors for 1970 is 40,201.) As with all of the performing arts occupations, the 

number of actors and directors in the labor force grew less rapidly in the 1980s than 

in the 1970s, although faster than the total experienced civilian labor force in general 

and professionals specifically. On an average annual basis, actors and directors 

increased by 5.3 percent per year during the 1970s and 5.0 percent during the 1980s. 

This slowdown was the smallest decline in growth rates for any performing arts 

occupation. 

TABLE 3 

PERFORMING ARTISTS IN THE EXPERIENCED CIVILIAN LABOR 

FORCE, 1990, AND AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATES DURING 

THE 1970s AND 1980s 

Experienced Average Annual
 

Civilian Labor Growth Rate
 

Occupation Force 1990 1970-80 1980-90
 

Actors and Directors 109,573 5.3% 5.0% 

Dancers 21,913 5.9% 5.2% 

Musicians and Composers 148,020 3.5% 0.5% 

Performing Artists 279,506 4.1% 2.4% 

All Artist Occupations 736,960 4.0% 4.4%
 

Professional Specialty 16,647,688 3.4% 3.1%
 

All 122,473,499 2.7% 1.6%
 

Source: Ellis and Beresford, 1994. 

Dancers, the smallest performing artist occupation (7.9 percent of performing 

artists in 1990), nearly tripled their numbers during these 20 years. The number of 

dancers grew at 5.9 percent per year in the 1970s and 5.2 percent in the 1980s, so 

that by 1990 their numbers had increased by 196 percent, from 7,404 in 1970 to 

13,194 in 1980 to 21,913 in 1990. 

The slowest growth rate--and the most dramatic trend--occurred among 

musicians and composers (the Census group which also includes singers). In 1970 

the experienced civilian labor force included 99,533 musicians and composers, the 

largest group (68 percent) of all performing artists. In 1980 their numbers had 

increased to 140,556 for a growth rate during the 1970s of 3.5 percent per year. 

During the 1980s, however, the growth rate had slowed to merely 0.5 percent per 

year so that by the 1990 Census, musicians and composers had added slightly less 

than 8,000 new labor force participants (148,020 musicians and composers in 1990). 

This was the lowest growth rate of any artist occupation during the 1980s. By 1990 the 

proportion of performing artists who were musicians and composers fell to 53 percent. 

Unemployment Rates 

Throughout the period of this study, performing artists’ unemployment rates 

exceeded those of the civilian workforce as a whole. Of the three groups, actors and 
90 I Artists in the Work Force 

directors consistently had the highest unemployment rates; their rate in 1990 of 

about 13 percent was well over twice the national rate of 5.3 percent. Dancers were 

unemployed at a rate of 7 percent in 1990, while the rate for musicians and 

composers was 6 percent. For performing artists as a whole, unemployment that year 

was 8.8 percent. 

Each of the three performing arts groups had its own distinct unemployment 

trends during this 20-year period. For musicians and composers, unemployment rose 

from 6 percent in 1970 to 8 percent in 1980 and then fell to 6 percent in 1990. Their 

rate showed the same trend as the national labor force’s unemployment rate, which 

rose from 5 percent in 1970 to 7 percent in 1980 and fell to 5 percent in 1990. 

For dancers, on the other hand, unemployment rates have declined. Starting at 

14 percent in 1970, more than double the national rate, dancers’ unemployment 

dropped to 11 percent in 1980 and to 7 percent in 1990. This was only two points 

above the 1990 national rate. (Because of the small number of dancers in the sample, 

this difference could be statistically insignificant.) 

Unemployment trends of actors and directors are more difficult to pin down. In 

1970 when actors were a separate occupational group, their unemployment rate was 

32 percent--extremely high compared to the other groups. When directors were 

combined with actors for the 1980 Census, the rate dropped to 15 percent. For actors 

alone, the rate could have gone up or down. The Current Population Survey put the 

1980 unemployment rate for actors alone at about 35 percent. However, the small 

CPS sample size for groups like actors and directors can distort the findings. This 

information indicates that directors have steadier employment than actors. 

Length of Time Since the Unemployed Last Worked 

Along with a decline in unemployment rates, the length of time since 

unemployed actors, directors and dancers last worked fell in the 1980s. In 1990, 65.2 

percent of actors and directors who were unemployed at the time of the Census 

(April 1 st) had been employed at some time that year. Nearly one-third, however, had 

been unemployed since sometime in 1989. Fewer than 3 percent had not worked for 

two years (since 1988) and only 1.5 percent had not worked for three to five years 

(since 1985 to 1987). This showed slight improvement over findings of the 1980 

Census when 61.1 percent of unemployed actors and directors had been employed at 

some time between January 1st and April 1st, 1980; 33.4 percent had last been 

employed during 1979; 3.5 percent had been out of work for two years and 2.0 

percent had been without a job for three to five years (Table 4). 

Unemployed dancers saw an even stronger downward trend in the length of time 

since they had last worked. As of April 1, 1990, 68.0 percent of the dancers who were 

out of work had been unemployed for less than three months, compared to 57.1 

percent of unemployed dancers 10 years earlier. The proportion who had not worked 

since sometime in the year prior to the Census dropped from 35.7 percent in 1980 

to 24.3 percent in 1990. The proportion unemployed for two to five years was 

roughly unchanged: 7.1 percent in 1980 to 7.6 percent in 1990. 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 91 

TABLE 4 

AMONG UNEMPLOYED PERFORMING ARTISTS, WHEN DID THEY 

LAST WORK? AS OF APRIL 1980 AND 1990 

Unemployed as of April 1, 1980 1990 

Unemployed actors and directors who last worked... 

This year 61.1 % 65.2% 

Last year 33.4% 30.6% 

Two years ago 3.5% 2.7% 

Three to five years ago 2.0% 1.5% 

Unemployed dancers who last worked... 

This year 57.1% 68.0% 

Last year 35.7% 24.3% 

Two years ago 7.1% 7.2% 

Three to five years ago * 0.4% 

Unemployed musicians and composers who last worked... 

This year 64.6% 55.7% 

Last year 27.1% 31.4% 

Two years ago 4.6% 6.4% 

Three to five years ago 3.7% 6.5% 

Source: 1980 and 1990 PUMS. 

*Less than 0.05% 

Although musicians and composers had consistently lower unemployment rates 

than the other performing artists, those who were out of work tended to remain so 

longer. In 1990, 12.9 percent of jobless musicians and composers had been 

unemployed for two to five years, compared to 4.2 percent for actors and directors 

and 7.6 percent for dancers. For musicians and composers, this was an increase in the 

numbers experiencing long term spells of unemployment. In 1980 the proportion 

with two or more years of unemployment had been only 8.3 percent. Additionally, 

there was a shift from unemployed musicians and composers who had worked during 

the Census year (64.6 percent in 1980; 55.7 percent in 1990) to those who had not 

worked since the year before the Census (27.1 percent in 1980; 31.4 percent in 

1990). 

Discouraged Workers 

A person is counted as in the labor force only if he or she is employed, 

unemployed and looking for work, or has been laid off and is awaiting recall. Of 

those classified as "not in the labor force," most are retired or working in the home. 

Others may be in school, ill or not in the labor force for other reasons. One reason 

is often "thinks no job is available," the discouraged worker. Unfortunately, 

information on discouraged workers is not available from the Census data. However, 

for 1980 Ruttenberg et al. found that 6 percent of all actors surveyed (including those 

who might be classed by the Census as not in the labor force) were discouraged 

workers. For singers, the rate was 7 percent; musicians, 5 percent and dancers, 3 

percent (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p. 161). 
92 I Artists in the Work Force 

Spells of Unemployment 

Concentrating on the labor force status at a point in time may be misleading; it 

certainly gives an incomplete picture. A performer may be employed at Census time, 

but this says nothing about his or her experiences in the labor market over time. 

According to the Ruttenberg survey, during 1980, 69 percent of actors, 64 percent 

of singers, 38 percent of musicians and 77 percent of dancers experienced some 

period of unemployment (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p. 131). Nationally, only 18.1 

percent of those in the labor force experienced or were experiencing a period of 

unemployment in 1980 (BLS, 1989). 

Not only did most performing artists have some period without pay during 

1980, but they also tended to have multiple periods of unemployment. In 1980, 63 

percent of actors, 49 percent of singers, 56 percent of musicians and 30 percent of 

dancers who were not employed experienced three or more periods without any work 

during the year, either as performers or in secondary jobs (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p. 

144). By contrast, only 13.1 percent of those in the total work force who had a 

jobless period in 1980 experienced three or more periods without work. Additionally, 

the majority of the unemployed performers (except for dancers) did not receive 

unemployment compensation. 

Class of Worker 

The Census defines the nature of a worker’s employer as the worker’s "class" of 

employment. The classes are private employer, self-employed, government or unpaid 

family work. Throughout this century there has been a trend in the U.S. away from 

self-employment toward wage and salary work in private firms, and more recently, in 

federal, state and local government. Performing artist occupations, however, deviate 

from the national trend. In 1990 of the 255,031 employed performing artists 

counted by the Census, 65.8 percent were wage and salary employees of private 

firms, 4.1 percent were government employees and 29.9 percent were self-employed 

(compared to only 8.6 percent of self-employed working civilians in the labor force 

overall). Of self-employed performing artists, 69.9 percent were musicians and 

composers, 24.8 percent were actors and directors and 5.3 percent were dancers. 

For actors and directors, 20 percent were self-employed in 1990, compared to 17 

percent in 1980. In 1970 only 11 percent of actors alone were self-employed; the 

difference implies that directors are more likely to be self-employed than actors. 

In 1990 dancers were also 20 percent self-employed, representing a five-fold 

increase over 1970 when only 4 percent were self-employed. They were, however, less 

likely than actors and directors to hold government positions. Dancers had the largest 

increase in the numbers of self-employed workers. 

Musicians and composers were the most likely to be self-employed in each 

Census, with 24 percent self-employed in 1970, 36 percent in 1980 and 38 percent 

in 1990. However, the unemployed among musicians and composers were more 

likely to describe themselves as self-employed; 47 percent of this group who were out 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 93 

of work described themselves as self-employed, compared to 38 percent of those who 

were employed. 

Persons in other classes of work are also classified as unemployed when laid off 

because their employer cannot find buyers for the firm’s goods or services. This is not 

much different from the self-employed musician who cannot find a gig. 

Industry of Employment 

It should come as no surprise that the majority of all performing artists were 

employed in the service sector of the U.S. economy. In 1990 "entertainment and 

recreation services" employed 51 percent of actors and directors, 68 percent of 

dancers and 48 percent of musicians and composers. Within that sector of 

employment, the main industry was "theatres and motion pictures" which employed 

51 percent of actors and directors, 32 percent of dancers and 45 percent of musicians 

and composers in 1990. For actors and directors, "communications" was the other 

principal sector of employment, specifically, "radio and television broadcasting and 

cable," which employed 32 percent of actors and directors in 1990. Next largest 

industry was "colleges and universities," which employed 5 percent of all working 

actors and directors. 

For dancers, the other significant industries of employment were "miscellaneous 

entertainment and recreation services" (35 percent) and "eating and drinking places" 

(22 percent). "Eating and drinking places" fall within the retail sector, which overall 

employed 23 percent of all dancers, including 1 percent in "hotels and motels." The 

prominence of eating and drinking places as a major employer of dancers probably 

reflects the diversity of this category which includes ballet, tap dancers, 

choreographers, go-go and "exotic" dancers. 

Musicians and composers were the next most likely, after actors and directors, to 

work in the "theatres and motion picture" industry. The next largest employers of 

musicians and composers were "religious organizations" (25 percent) and "eating and 

drinking places" (7 percent). That last figure appears to represent a reversal in the 

growth trend for musicians in "eating and drinking places." In 1970, 10,363 or 11 

percent of musicians and composers were employed in that industry. By 1980 "eating 

and drinking places" employed 11,558 musicians and composers. But all the gains 

and more disappeared by 1990 when only 9,769 musicians and composers worked 

in that industry--a decline of almost 6 percent in the 20-year period. This decline 

could in part reflect the difficulty the Census has identifying musicians when they 

work part-time or intermittently in their profession. But it appears to be a factor in 

the overall decline in the musicians’ labor force growth rate. 

An even larger factor in the declining growth rate for musicians and composers 

appears to be the sharp decline in the number employed in "theatres and motion 

pictures" between 1980 and 1990. In 1980, 68,468 musicians and composers or 53 

percent had work in this industry. By 1990 the numbers had dropped to 62,614 

individuals and 45 percent. This was a sharp reversal of the 77 percent growth 

musicians and composers enjoyed in this industry in the previous decade. An 
94 I Artists in the Work Force 

explanation for this trend may lie in the increased availability of electronic substitutes 

for live performers in the music field during the 1980s, such as sophisticated 

recording and sampling technologies. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting changes in industrial employment for 

performing artists resulted from combining the actor-director category and the 

concomitant rise in importance of cable television. In 1970, 70 percent of all actors 

worked in the "theatres and motion picture" industry and only 6 percent in the 

"radio and television broadcasting and cable" industry. By 1980 the proportions had 

changed to 51 percent of actors-directors employed in the "theatres and motion 

picture" industry and 34 percent in the "radio and television broadcasting and cable" 

industry. In 1990 these proportions were little changed (51 percent and 32 percent). 

Weeks of Work and Usual Weekly Hours 

The Census asks respondents if they worked at any time during the previous year 

for a wage. Having worked last year forms the organizing principle for employment 

and earnings characteristics of performing artists in the following sections. 

The number of performing artists increases significantly when the focus shifts 

from the currently employed (as of Census Week) to those who worked at all the 

previous year. In 1990, 255,031 performing artists were employed at the time of the 

Census, but almost a quarter more (310,925) had worked sometime the previous 

year. Workers in general cycle between employment, unemployment and not in the 

labor force due to a host of personal and economic circumstances. Performing artists 

appear more likely to experience this cycling than most other workers. When the 

focus shifts from the current to the previous year, a problem is uncertainty that the 

current occupation is the same as last year’s. 

Among actors and directors who had any work in 1989, 53.6 percent worked 50 

to 52 weeks during the year. At the other end of the spectrum 23.5 percent worked 

26 or fewer weeks. This was an improvement over 1979 when 48.3 percent worked 

a full year and 27.7 percent worked less than half a year. In 1969, before directors 

were included in this category, only 21.7 percent of actors worked a full year, while 

41.2 percent worked less than a half year. In fact, in 1969, nearly a quarter of all 

actors worked 13 or fewer weeks. Improvements for actors and directors from 1970 

to 1990 have resulted largely from changing the definition of the category in 1980, 

as directors clearly have steadier employment than actors. The median number of 

weeks worked by actors and directors in 1989 was 50, up two weeks from 1979. 

Dancers were the least likely in 1989 to work a full year. Only a third of all 

dancers who had any work that year worked 50 to 52 weeks. This represented some 

progress as only 29.5 percent of dancers worked a full year in 1969 and 28.3 percent 

in 1979. Dancers were also more likely than other performers, although marginally 

so, to work less than halfa year in 1989. Of all dancers who worked in 1989, 27.2 

percent worked 26 or fewer weeks, a slight improvement over 1979 (33.3 percent) 

and 1969 (31.1 percent). The median number of weeks worked in 1989 was 39, the 

lowest for performing artists. 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 95 

Nearly half of all musicians and composers who worked in 1989 (46.1 percent) 

worked a full year, which was up from 39 percent in 1969 and a similar proportion 

in 1979. In 1989 the median number of weeks worked by musicians and composers 

was 48, up by six weeks from 1979 (data for 1969 is not available). Taken together, 

the data for musicians and composers paint a picture of a labor market that is using 

its employed workers more intensively (more weeks worked and longer spells of 

unemployment) compared to other performers. 

For most occupations, less than 35 hours a week is considered to be part-time 

employment. By this measurement, of musicians and composers who worked in 

1989, 43.8 percent worked full-time and 56.2 percent part-time (Table 5). This 

represented a trend toward less part-time work for musicians and composers, 63.0 

percent of whom worked part-time in 1979. (1969 data not available.) It is 

impossible to say whether this trend may represent an increase in hours worked at 

non-performing arts related jobs. 

TABLE 5
 

CROSSTABULATION OF PERFORMING ARTISTS BY PART/FULL
 

TIME AND PART/FULL YEAR WORK STATUS IN 1989.
 

Actors & Musicians & 

Directors Dancers Composers Part-year 46% 67% 54% Part-time 18% 36% 36% 

Full-time 29% 31% 18%
 

Full-year
 54% 33% 46% Part-time 5% 14% 20% Full-time 48% 20% 26%
 

Part time
 23% 50% 56%
 Full-time
 77% 50% 44%
 

Total
 100% 100% 100% 

Source 1990 PUMS. 

Dancers experienced a relative decline in full-time employment as measured by 

usual weekly hours from 1979 to 1989. In 1979, 56.0 percent were employed fulltime and 44.0 percent part-time. By 1989 the proportions had changed to 50.4 

percent working full-time usual weekly hours and 49.6 percent part-time. 

For actors and directors, those employed full-time increased slightly from 74.6 

percent working full-time hours in 1979 to 77.2 percent working full-time hours in 

1989. When actors and directors worked, they were more than twice as likely as other 

performers to work long hours; 37.4 percent had more than 40 hours in a typical 

week in 1989. 

Because it will be important later when earnings are discussed, Table 5 brings 

together the discussion of weeks and usual weekly hours worked by performing artists 

in 1989. It is interesting to note that whether actors and directors are employed partor full-year, they are more likely to work full-time--35 or more hours a week. For 

dancers, musicians and composers, part-year workers are more likely to work parttime and full-year workers to work full-time. This has a significant effect on earnings 
96 I Artists in the Work Force 

levels for these occupations, as will be shown. 

The Census does not answer the question that is probably foremost in the mind 

of those interested in the labor market experiences of performing artists: how much 

of the work reported in the Census is in the performing arts and how much is in 

other jobs? Most performing artists are multiple jobholders. Sixty-four percent each 

of actors and singers, 73 percent of musicians and 37 percent of dancers held jobs 

outside of the performing arts in 1980 (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p. 81). In contrast, 

only 5.2 percent of all workers nationwide held multiple jobs in 1970, 4.9 percent in 

1980 and 6.2 percent in 1989 (Stinson, 1990; p.4). In 1991 the multiple job-holding 

rate for managerial and professional specialty workers was 7.3 percent, the highest 

rate among the major occupational groups, but not as high as rates for performing 

artists (Census, 1992). The most frequent reasons performers gave in 1980 for 

working outside performing arts were (1) there was not enough performing arts work 

and (2) the outside work supplemented their income from the performing arts. 

The Ruttenberg study found that in 1980 actors were the most likely to have 

worked 50 days or fewer in performing arts (61 percent). (For a regular eight hour 

work day and five day work week, the usual number of days with pay is 260 per year.) 

Singers tended to have more performing arts work than actors; only 31 percent 

worked 50 days or fewer. Thirty-four percent of musicians worked 50 or fewer days 

in their field. Dancers had the most work time in a performing arts job. Only 19 

percent of dancers worked 50 days or less, but 47 percent worked over 250 days, 

giving dancers the highest proportion with roughly full year employment in the 

performing arts. Only 5 percent of actors, 8 percent of singers and 12 percent of 

musicians worked as much as dancers in performing arts jobs (Ruttenberg et al., 

1981; p.64). By contrast, Census data showed dancers the least likely to work a full 

year. 

The differences might arise from small sample sizes in both data sources, the 

mixture of types of dancers in the Census and the union status of dancers in the 

Ruttenberg study. They may also reflect that actors and musicians are more likely 

than dancers to get supplemental work outside their performing arts profession, 

thereby boosting the number of weeks they report employment relative to dancers. 

The Ruttenberg study reported that of those who held a job outside the performing 

arts, 47 percent of actors worked 100 or more days in that job and 17 percent worked 

over 250 days in 1980. The proportions for singers were even greater: 59 percent 

worked over 100 days. Fifty percent of musicians worked 100 or more days in their 

other jobs. Dancers, the least likely to have a job outside the performing arts, also 

worked less in those jobs when they did have them; only 22 percent worked more 

than 100 days in their non-performing arts jobs (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p.116). 

Earnings 

Clear-cut information on performing artists’ incomes is difficult to come by, due 

to multiple job holding, irregular hours and periodic joblessness, with and without 

unemployment compensation. 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 97 

Data on income by type is available in the Census data. In the Artist Extract 

Files, which are derived from the Census, the data for each person include income 

from wages and salaries, non-farm and farm self-employment, retirement, interest 

and dividends, public assistance and "other" sources. Interpreting this income 

information for performing artists is not easy. The breakdown of wages between 

performing arts work and/or a support job cannot be known. Interest income could 

be residual or royalty income from a recorded performance or interest from a 

checking account. Caution is called for when interpreting the data. 

Union pension records, on the other hand, show wage and residual income from 

performing arts work only. However, they may not represent all of a person’s earnings 

in the performing arts field, and they lack data on earnings from jobs outside the 

field. Neither do they include precise information on how much work time the 

earnings represent. (The union pension records do include weeks worked, but 

according to the standard practice, one to seven days worked in a seven day period is 

recorded as a full week of work. This system makes it difficult to tell who is actually 

working more than whom.) Also, information on labor force status comparable to 

that found in the Census and CPS is lacking. 

Despite the shortcomings of the Census and pension data, a great deal can be 

said about the earnings of performing artists. 

Median and Mean Earnings 

The last three Censuses have recorded ever higher earnings for each group of 

performing artists. In 1969 actors had median earnings of $5,936; dancers, $3,332 

and musicians and composers, $2,958. By 1979 the median earnings of dancers 

increased 62 percent to $5,404 and musicians and composers 88 percent to $5,561. 

These increases, however, were outpaced by the 98 percent rise in average consumer 

prices in the U.S. from 1969 to 1979. 

Data for actors and directors are not available for 1969 because directors were 

not included with actors in the 1970 Census. In 1979, however, the median earnings 

of actors and directors were $12,564, an increase of 111.7 percent over actors alone 

in the 1970 Census. Clearly the merging of directors with actors in the 1980 Census 

boosted the earnings of the group relative to actors alone. 

By 1989 the median earnings of performing artists were higher: for actors and 

directors, $22,000 (up 75 percent from 1979); for dancers, $8,500 (up 57 percent) 

and for musicians and composers, $9,900 (up 78 percent). Average prices increased 

by 68 percent during this time, so for all performers except dancers their median 

earnings outpaced inflation. (See Table 6.) 

The mean earnings of performing artists also increased from 1979 to 1989, but 

at a higher rate than inflation. Additionally, mean earnings were higher than median 

earnings, which showed some individuals’ earnings were much higher than the rest 

of their group’s earnings. The mean earnings of actors and directors were $16,498 in 

1970, or 31 percent higher than median earnings; by 1989 they had increased to 

$32,261 (up 96 percent), with the difference between the mean and median or 
98 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 6 

MEDIAN EARNINGS OF PERFORMING ARTISTS WORKING IN 

1969,1979 AND 1989. 

Percent Change 

1969 1979 1989 1969-79 1979-89 

Actors $5,936 

Actors & directors na 

Dancers 3,332 

Musicians & Composers 2,958 

na 

$12,564 

5,404 

5,561 

na 

$22,000 

8,500 

9,900 

na 

na 

62.2% 

88.0% 

na 

75.1% 

57.3% 

78.0% 

Inflation (CPI-W, 1982/84 + 100) 36.9 73.1 122.6 98.1% 67.7% 

Sources: NEA Research Division Note #10 "Artists Real Earnings Decline 37 Percent in the 

1970’s," Washington, DC, March 5, 1985, and Artist Extract File for 1990 Census 

spread increased to 47 percent. This growing spread indicates that the earnings of the 

highest paid members of the professions, perhaps "superstars," increased faster than 

earnings of the profession as a whole. (See Table 7.) 

The same trend held for dancers, musicians and composers. For dancers, their 

mean earnings were $7,062 in 1979 and increased by 72 percent to $12,152 in 1989. 

Musicians’ and composers’ mean earnings were $16,233 in 1989, an increase of 105 

percent over their mean earnings of $7,92~5 in 1979. The spread also increased. In 

1979 the mean was 31 percent higher than the median for dancers’ earnings, but 43 

percent higher in 1989. For musicians and composers, the spread increased from 43 

percent in 1979 to 64 percent in 1989. 

TABLE 7
 

MEAN EARNINGS OF PERFORMING ARTISTS AND INFLATION
 

1979 TO 1989.
 

Percent Change 

1979 1989 1979-89 

Actors na na na 

Actors and directors $16,498 $32,261 95.5% 

Dancers 7,062 12,152 72.1% 

Musicians and composers 7,923 16,233 104.9% 

Inflation (CPI-W, 1982/84=100) 73.1 122.6 67.7% 

Sources: Artist Extract Files for 1980 and 1990; Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Distribution of Earnings 

Single numbers like the mean or median do not tell the whole story of how well 

or poorly performing artists have done in the labor market at each point in time. For 

example, in 1989 about 1 percent of all performing artists earned zero or less (Table 

8). Twenty-four percent of actors and directors, 53 percent of dancers and 49 percent 

of musicians and composers earned less than $10,000 in 1989--from all work. The 

similarities in earnings distributions for performing artist occupations end there. 

Actors and directors are much more evenly spread out in terms of earnings and 

consistently earn more than their dancer or musician peers. About three-quarters of 
 

Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 99 

TABLE 8
 

MEAN EARNINGS OF PERFORMING ARTISTS AND INFLATION
 

1979 TO 1989.
 

Actors & Musicians & 

Directors Dancers Composers 

% Cumulative % Cumulative % Cumulative 

Total Total Total 

$0 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 

$1 to $999 4.5% 7.4% 9.3% 

$1,000 to $4,999 10.0% 24.1% 22.2% 

$5,000 to $9,999 9.3% 20.9% 17.1% 

Loss 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 

$0 to $9,999 24.2% 24.5% 52.8% 53.2% 49.0% 49.4% 

$10,000 to $19,999 19.6% 44.2% 25.6% 78.8% 21.9% 71.3% 

$20,000 to $29,999 18.0% 62.2% 12.9% 91.7% 12.8% 84.1% 

$30,000 to $39,999 12.8% 74.9% 4.0% 95.7% 6.3% 90.4% 

$40,000 to $49,999 7.6% 82.6% 2.2% 97.9% 3.2% 93.6% 

$50,000 to $59,999 4.7% 87.3% 0.6% 98.5% 1.9% 95.5% 

$60,000 or more 12.7% 100.0% 1.3% 100.0% 3.9% 100.0% 

Source: 1990 PUMS. 

dancers, musicians and composers earned less than $20,000 in 1989, but less than 

half of all actors and directors who worked in 1989 earned less than $20,000. At the 

other end of the earnings distribution, 13 percent of actors and directors (1 in 8) 

earned $60,000 or more in 1989, but only 1.3 percent of dancers (1 in 80) and 3.9 

percent of musicians and composers (about 1 in 25) earned that much the same year. 

Although actors and directors were the most likely to earn in the higher brackets 

in 1989, the distribution of earnings improved during the 1980s for all performing 

artist occupations as seen in Tables 9, 10 and 11 for 1979 and 1989. Data for 1969 

are not available for earnings distributions. 

The earnings distribution shifted markedly for actors and directors between 

1979 and 1989. The proportion earning less than $10,000 during the year decreased 

from 44 percent in 1979 to 24 percent in 1989. The proportion who earned at least 

$10,000, but less than $20,000, also decreased, from 28 percent to 20 percent. At 

the other end of the earnings distribution, every interval above $20,000 increased its 

share of actors and directors earning in those ranges. The proportion of actors and 

directors with the highest incomes, $60,000 or more, grew the most, increasing from 

5 percent in 1979 to 13 percent in 1989. 

An upward shift in the earnings distribution also occurred for dancers during the 

1980s. In 1979, 75 percent of dancers earned less than $10,000, but by 1989 the 

proportion of dancers in that range had fallen to roughly 50 percent. More than a 

quarter earned between $10,000 and $19,999 in 1989, compared to less than 20 

percent earning in that range in 1979. 

The distribution of earnings for musicians and composers also improved 

between 1979 and 1989. The proportion earning less than $10,000 fell from 71 

percent in 1979 to about one half in 1989. The proportion earning $30,000 or more 

increased substantially from 3.6 percent in 1979 to 15.3 percent in 1989. 
100 I Artists in the Work Force 

TABLE 9 

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ACTORS AND DIRECTORS WHO WORKED 

IN YEAR PREVIOUS TO CENSUS, BY EARNINGS. 1980 AND 1990 CENSUSES. 

Shift in % 

Earnings Ranges 1979 1989 points 

$0 0.6% 0.4% -0.1 

$1 to $999 6.5% 4.5% 2.1 

$1,000 to $4,999 

$5,000 to $9,999 

18.0% 

8.6% 

10.0% 

9.3% 

8.0 

9.3 

Loss 0.5% 0.4% -0.1 

$0 to $9,999 

$10,000 to $19,999 

$20,000 to $29,999 

$30,000 to $39,999 

$40,000 to $49,999 

$50,000 to $59,999 

$60,000 or more 

43.7% 

27.7% 

12.7% 

5.7% 

2.8% 

2.0% 

5.0% 

24.2% 

19.6% 

18.0% 

12.8% 

7.6% 

4.7% 

12.7% 

-19.5 

-8.1 

5.3 

7.1 

4.9 

2.6 

7.8 

Source: 1980 and 1990 PUMS. 

TABLE 10 

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF DANCERS WHO WORKED IN YEAR 

PREVIOUS TO CENSUS~ BY EARNINGS. 1980 AND 1990 CENSUSES. 

Shift in % 

Earnings Ranges 1979 1989 points 

$0 1.2% 0.4% -0.8 

$1 to $999 13.5% 7.4% -6.1 

$1,000 to $4,999 35.3% 24.1% -11.2 

$5,000 to $9,999 25.2% 20.9% -4.3 

Loss 0.5% 0.4% -0.1 

$0 to $9,999 75.2% 52.8% -22.3 

$10,000 to $19,999 18.3% 25.6% 7.2 

$20,000 to $29,999 3.8% 12.9% 9.2 

$30,000 to $39,999 0.9% 4.0% 3.1 

0.8% 2.2% 1.4 $40,000 to $49,999 

$50,000 to $59,999 0.1% 0.6% 0.5 

$60,000 or more 0.5% 1.3% 0.8 

Source: 1980 and 1990 PUMS. 

TABLE 11 

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF MUSICIANS & COMPOSERS WHO WORKED 

IN YEAR PREVIOUS TO CENSUS, BY EARNINGS. 1980 AND 1990 CENSUSES. 

Shift in % 

Earnings Ranges 1979 1989 points 

$0 0.7% 0.4 -0.3 

$1 to $999 13.0% 9.3% -3.7 

35.3% 22.2% -13.1 $1,000 to $4,999 

$5,000 to $9,999 22.1% 17.1% 5.0 

Loss 0.5% 0.4% -0.1 

-22.1 $0 to $9,999 71.1 % 49.0%
 

$10,000 to $19,999 19.2% 21.9% 2.7
 

12.8% 7.6 $20,000 to $29,999 5.2% 

1.7% 6.3% 4.6 $30,000 to $39,999 0.7% 3.2% 2.5 $40,000 to $49,999 1.4 $50,000 to $59,999 0.4% 1.9%
 

$60,000 or more 0.8% 3.9% 3.1
 

Source: 1980 and 1990 PUMS. 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 101 

Full-time versus Part-time Earnings 

A number of variables affect earnings. The number of hours worked per week 

and the number of weeks worked per year are major factors determining the level of 

earnings. To simplify this analysis, performing artists are grouped according to 

whether they worked part-time and part-year (less than 35 hours per week, less than 

50 weeks per year) or full-time and full-year (35 or more hours per week, 50 weeks 

or more per year). As Table 12 shows, these differences have a dramatic effect on 

earnings. 

TABLE 12 

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF PERFORMING ARTISTS WHO 

WORKED IN YEAR PREVIOUS TO CENSUS, BY EARNINGS AND BY 

PART/FULL TIME AND PART/FULL YEAR WORK STATUS, 1989 

EARNINGS FROM 1990 CENSUS. 

Actors & Musicians & 

Directors Dancers Composers 

Part-time Part-time Part-time Part-time Part-time Part-time 

Earnings Range & Part-year & Part-year & Part-year & Part-year & Part-year & Part-year 

$0 1.2% 0.2% 0.8% 0.0% 0.7% 0.1% 

$1 to $999 17.6% 0.2% 16.7% 0.4% 19.6% 0.7% 

$1,000 to $4,999 29.3% 0.7% 37.8% 2.6% 33.1% 3.4% 

$5,000 to $9,999 16.8% 3.0% 20.9% 13.8% 18.1% 9.2% 

Loss 0.5% 0.3% 0.4% 1.5% 1.6% 1.1% 

$0 to $9,999 64.9% 4.1% 76.1% 16.7% 71.4% 13.6% 

$10,000 to $19,999 13.2% 20.2% 14.5% 41.9% 14.1% 28.7% 

$20,000 to $29,999 8.7% 23.4% 4.7% 26.2% 6.3% 23.7% 

$30,000 to $39,999 3.7% 18.6% 2.5% 7.6% 2.5% 13.9% 

$40,000 to $49,999 2.1% 11.3% 0.7% 2.4% 1.4% 6.6% 

$50,000 to $59,999 1.7% 6.2% 0.3% 1.4% 0.8% 4.1% 

$60,000 or more 5.1% 15.9% 0.7% 2.3% 1.8% 8.4% 

Source: 1980 and 1990 PUMS. 

For all performing artist occupations (without regard to hours or weeks worked), 

the most common earnings interval was the $0 to $9,999 range (Table 8, earlier). 

When part-time and part-year artists are separated from full-time and full-year 

artists, the most prevalent interval for part-time and part-year artists continues to be 

the $0 to $9,999 interval, with 65 percent of actors and directors, 76 percent of 

dancers and 71 percent of musicians and composers (Table 12). Interestingly, the 

proportions of all performing artists earning $0 to $9,999 are closer for all three 

occupations when just part-time and part-year workers are examined. Clearly, some 

of the earnings differences between actors and directors and the other two groups 

discussed above arise from differing proportions of part-time workers (Table 5, earlier). 

For full-time and full-year work, the most prevalent range for performing artists 

overall is $10,000 to $19,999. Twenty percent of actors and directors, 42 percent of 

dancers and 29 percent of musicians and composers earn in this range. Notably, 

substantial proportions of all performing artists who work full-time, all year earn in 

the higher ranges. For example, when all performing artists are considered, 18 
102 I Artists in the Work Force 

percent of actors and directors and 13 percent each of dancers, musicians and composers earned in the $20,000 to $29,999 range. When only full-time, full-year workers 

are considered, however, about a quarter of each group had earnings in this range. 

Much has been made of the low levels of performing arts earnings and the fact 

that median earnings generally have failed to keep pace with inflation. In analyzing 

the meaning of available data on their earnings, though, it is important to keep that 

data’s limitations in mind. 

One problem is the temptation to analyze Census data as if the performing artists 

recorded in the 1970 Census are the same ones recorded in the 1980 and 1990 

Censuses. This is not the case. As noted earlier, the performing artist labor force has 

increased substantially over the last 20 years, faster than the labor force in general. 

This suggests that the performing artist labor force has a greater proportion of new 

and relatively inexperienced workers, and these less experienced performers might 

inflate the lower end of the earnings distribution. Those just starting out will earn 

little and if they don’t make it will likely drop out of the performing arts work force 

to pursue another career. Those who do make it will probably see their earnings rise 

over time. By the next Census, the discouraged performers are accounted for in 

different occupations and a new, larger group of aspiring performers are now counted 

in the performing artist labor force. The Census data will reflect the successes of 

performing artists who have found steady work by showing a shifting of the earnings 

distribution toward higher incomes. 

Generally, researchers have found that performing artists earn less than other 

professionals with similar experience and education. However, Ruttenberg et al. 

found in 1980 that 50 percent of actors, 42 percent of singers, 49 percent of 

musicians and 23 percent of dancers received less than half of their income from 

performing arts work (Ruttenberg et al., 1981; p. 182). Thus it cannot be assumed 

that earnings of performing artists reported in the Census are from performing arts 

work alone and that as professionals, their earnings suffer in comparison to those of 

other professionals. What may suffer is the availability of steady employment as a 

performing artist relative to other professionals. It cannot be demonstrated using 

Census data that the artists’ rates of pay are lower. 

Another factor heavily influencing earnings is the artist’s other occupation. The 

1981 survey by Ruttenberg et al. found that of those with second jobs in 1980 over 

half the actors and singers, over a fourth of musicians and one third of dancers were 

in sales, clerical or service jobs--jobs with a history of low pay and benefits. Fewer 

than 15 percent held professional jobs as their supplementary occupation and the 

majority indicated that pay of their secondary job was less that their pay in 

performing arts. Most of those with a second job tended to choose those jobs that 

gave them the flexibility needed to pursue an arts career. 

Union Earnings from Pension Records 

This section examines wage and residual earnings information provided by the 

three main actors’ unions from their pension records. These three unions represent 

most of the nation’s professional actors who perform on stage, screen, television, 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 103 

radio or video. Comparable data could not be provided by the two principal unions 

in the musical arts. This discussion will therefore concentrate on actors, except in the 

area of average earnings by source, where certain information is also available for 

musicians’ earnings. 

Data furnished by the actors’ unions cover all members of the particular union 

who had worked anytime within the five years previous to 1990. The Screen Actors 

Guild (SAG) had data for 1992 only, while the other two unions, Actors’ Equity 

Association (AEA) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists 

(AFTRA), furnished data for both 1990 and 1992. (AFTRA’s pension data used here 

excludes categories of members who worked in non-acting fields.) 

The pension data was combined into two master files. The first file covers 

individuals with at least $1 in earnings in 1992 who belonged to any of the three 

unions. The second file covers individuals regardless of earnings who were active 

members in both 1990 and 1992 of AFTRA and/or AEA. Both files contain, for each 

individual, the source of income by union and whether it was wage or residual 

income; however, neither file included personal identifying information. The 

category of wage income in these pension data files corresponds to the wage and 

salary income category of the Census. However, an actor’s residual income would 

have been included in the Census as interest, royalty and dividends--a category that 

was not examined in the previous section on earnings information from the Census. 

The first file, covering actors and extras of all three unions who earned at least 

$1 in 1992, included 84,637 actors and extras (extras are included in the Census’ 

actor/director category). As an indication of overlapping memberships, 56 of these 

actors and extras belonged to only one union, 31 percent belonged to two unions and 

13 percent belonged to all three unions. The second file, which covers members of 

AEA and AFTRA who were active in both 1990 and 1992, includes 93,766 actors 

and extras. The differences between the two universes are (1) SAG members who are 

members of SAG only, (2) any actor/extra who earned nothing, and (3) active 

members in 1992 who were not active in 1990. 

The Census and pension data are not strictly comparable, but their differences 

help point out some unique labor market problems faced by performers. The data are 

not comparable because (1) the Census has stricter inclusion criteria both for 

occupational and labor force status and (2) the Census data includes directors. Of 

those 84,637 union actors in the pension records, many were probably omitted from 

the tally of Census actors because they did not spend the majority of their work hours 

during Census Week working as actors. Similarly, there were probably other union 

actors who were out of the labor force altogether during Census Week. The Census’ 

stricter criteria may help explain why the 1990 Census counted 109,573 actors and 

directors, while the union’s figures for actors alone just two years later are about 28 

percent higher. 

Earnings Distributions 

Based on the 1992 union data covering all 84,637 actors and extras with 

earnings, the vast majority (about 69 percent) earned less than $10,000 per year from 
104 I Artists in the Work Force 

wages and residuals (Table 13). The most comparable Census figures are from 1989 

when only 24 percent of actors and directors reported earning $10,000 or less. The 

differences lend support to the hypothesis that Census data on performers’ earnings 

are more reflective of their non-performing arts work, and that combining actors and 

directors in the Census data has masked the labor market experiences of actors alone. 

This hypothesis is further supported by looking at the high end of the earnings 

distribution. In the 1989 Census data 13 percent of actors and directors earned 

$60,000 or more, whereas only 6 percent of actors in the pension data earned that 

much. 

TABLE 13 

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF EARNINGS FOR ACTORS WITH EARNINGS 

THROUGH THE ACTOR UNIONS (Wages & Residuals). 

AEA, AFTRA, and SAG, 1992. 

1992 Wages & Residuals 

through AEA, AFTRA and/or 

Earnings Ranges SAG by Actors with Earnings 

$1 to $999 30.4% 

$1,000 to $4,999 26.1% 

$5,000 to $9,999 12.9% 

$1 to $9,999 69.4% 

$10,000 to $19,999 10.8% 

$20,000 to $29,999 5.3% 

$30,000 to $39,999 2.9% 

$40,000 to $49,999 2.1% 

$50,000 to $59,999 1.7% 

$60,000 or more 7.9% 

Total 100.0% 

Source: Union pension records, AEA, AFTRA and SAG. 

Earnings over Time 

The pension data which covers only AEA and AFTRA members has information 

for the same 93,766 individuals in 1990 and 1992, providing a means to examine 

how individuals fare over time in the acting profession, albeit for a relatively short 

time. 

Overall, the earnings distribution is fairly stable. Eighty-nine percent in 1990 

earned less than $10,000 per year and 87 percent earned less than $10,000 per year 

in 1992. The distribution changed little at any earnings level. 

What is masked in the distribution as a whole is the volatility of personal 

earnings between these two years. Of those without any earnings in 1990, 25 percent 

earned something in 1992--some going from "zero to 60" thousand or more in two 

years. Conversely, of those who had earned something in 1990, 18 percent earned 

nothing in 1992. Although more than half of the 93,766 earned nothing from their 

craft in both years, of the remainder about 50 percent earned more in 1992 and 

about 50 percent earned less. These statistics include actors whose earnings changed 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1 990 I 105 

within their range. Looking at the same earnings intervals, about one-third moved to 

a higher interval, about one-third stayed the same and about one-third dropped. 

Source of Earnings 

Earnings levels also differ significantly by source. For SAG members alone, 

information was obtained from the pension records on the source of earnings for 

their members broken down as follows: actor versus extra, wages (from any and all 

employers) versus residuals and by type of performance (theatrical motion picture, 

television, TV commercial and industrial educational). The data are for 1992 (Table 14). 

TABLE 14
 

AVERAGE WAGES AND RESIDUALS FOR SAG MEMBERS,
 

BY TYPE OF WORK. 1992.
 

Number of Average Pay 

Type of Earnings & Work Total Pay Earners per Earner 

Wages 

Actors 

Theatrical Motion Picture $160,545,604 15,274 $10,511 

Television $289,281,273 18,412 $15,712 

TV Commercial $147,839,768 21,910 $6,748 

Industrial Educational $8,609,410 4,908 $1,754 

Extras 

Theatrical Motion Picture $4,856,191 7,464 $651 

Television $5,424,817 4,642 $1,169 

TV Commercial $6,610,145 5,657 $1,168 

Residuals 

Actors 

Theatrical Motion Picture $52,492,450 25,394 $2,067 

Television $94,892,377 31,522 $3,010 

TV Commercial $225,118,805 19,951 $11,284 

Industrial Educational $517,335 805 $643 

Extras 

All types of work [1] $80,856 219 $369 

[1 ] Detail aggregated to preserve anonymity 

Source: SAG Pension Records. 

The highest average wage was for actors with television work who earned an 

average of $15,712 for the year (1992). The highest average residual was from TV 

commercial work, $11,284. The lowest average wage was for extras in theatrical 

motion pictures, $651, while extras earned the most in television and in TV 

commercials, about $1,168. These averages probably show the same amount of 

variation as do earnings as a whole, but they do provide a clue as to why earnings vary 

so much. It may be that some types of work pay more, or simply that more work is 

available in those categories. The data cannot disclose which is the case. 

Similar information is available from the American Federation of Musicians 

(AFM) which provided summary data on its members’ average earnings by type of 
 

106 I Artists in the Work Force 

performance from pension records covering 43,552 members in 1992. The highest 

average pay for musicians came from New York City theatricals, where average pay 

was $15,164 for the year (Table15). The lowest was for performances on network or 

commercial radio at $680. Average earnings for TV firms were $3,318 and motion 

pictures, $5,638. 

These data are essentially the total of all earnings from a particular source (e.g., 

TV commercials) divided by the number of performers with that kind of work. They 

are average earnings per person from that kind of work, not average earnings per 

performance. While it is not possible to tell from these data which types of 

performances paid better, these figures do show the extent to which each type of work 

is serving as a source of income for actors and musicians. 

TABLE 15
 

AVERAGE WAGES FOR MUSICIAN MEMBERS OF AMERICAN
 

FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS, BY INDUSTRY & OVERALL. 1992.
 

Type of Earnings & Work Total Pay 

Number of 

Earners 

Average 

Pay 

Phonograph recordings 

(Symphonic & non-symphonic) $32,479,245 12,482 $2,602 

Jingles and commercials (Radio and TV) $30,527,576 na na 

Motion pictures $21,091,181 3,741 $5,638 

Television films $12,517,364 3,773 $3,318 

Phonograph demo recordings $864,509 1,017 $850 

Network radio (commercial radio) $2,590,954 3,813 $680 

Syndicated video $7,377,211 5,243 $1,407 

Education TV $1,613,351 912 $1,769 

Traveling theatrical $5,922,392 557 $10,633 

Fairs, rodeos and circuses $745,014 267 $2,790 

Maritime (ships) $230,857 244 $946 

New York City theatricals 

Local casual and steady engagements 

$16,270,998 

$54,672,717 

1,073 

24,415 

$15,164 

$2,239 

Theatres 

Local symphonies 

$21,081,355 

$42,165,950 

5,022 

8,382 

$4,198 

$5,031 

All industries [1] $266,896,255 43,552 $6,128 

[1] Includes union local officials and employees. The sum of the detail exceeds the total 

number of earners because earners can have earnings in more than one category. 

Source: AFM Pension Records. 

Geographic Distribution 

This section details, as much as practicable, where performing artists live and 

work, based on Census data. The Census defined regions are: Northeast, Midwest, 

South and West. Each region is composed of divisions of which there are nine: New 

England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, West North Central, South Atlantic, 

East South Central, West South Central, Mountain and Pacific. Unless specifically 

noted to the contrary, actors and directors are included in the following 1970 data, 

unlike most of the preceding analysis. 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 107 

Distribution by Region 

In 1990 the West region of the United States had 36 percent of all actors and 

directors, more than any of the other three regions. In 1970 only 29 percent of actors 

and directors lived in this region, a virtual tie with the Northeast where 31 percent 

lived (Table 16). By 1990 the Northeast was close to the same number at 29 percent. 

The Midwest’s share dropped from 18 percent of actors and directors in 1970 to 14 

percent in 1990. The South remained essentially unchanged at 21 percent in 1990, 

up from 18 percent in 1980 but the same as in 1970. 

TABLE 16 

DISTRIBUTION OF PERFORMING ARTISTS BY REGION OF 

THE UNITED STATES. 1970 TO 1990. 

Region 1970 1980 1990
 

Actors and Directors
 

Northeast 31% 31% 29% 

Midwest 18% 13% 14% 

South 21% 18% 21% 

West 29% 37% 36% 

Dancers 

Northeast 24% 29% 23% 

Midwest 17% 14% 1 7% 

South 19% 25% 32% 

West 40% 32% 28% 

Musicians and Composers 

Northeast 25% 25% 22% 

Midwest 25% 21% 20% 

South 27% 29% 32% 

West 24% 26% 26% 

Source: Ellis and Beresford, 1994. 

The pattern for dancers could not have been more different. The West employed 

40 percent of all dancers in 1970, dropping to 32 percent in 1980 and to 28 percent 

in 1990. The major gainer was the South whose share of dancers in 1990 was 32 

percent, up from 19 percent in 1970 and 25 percent in 1980. With minor 

fluctuations, the Northeast and Midwest had about the same proportion of dancers 

in 1990 as in 1970. In 1970 the Northeast was home to 24 percent, in 1990, 23 

percent. The Midwest had 17 percent in both 1970 and 1990. 

Musicians and composers followed yet another trend. While the Northeast 

incurred a slight loss in its share of musicians and composers and the West a slight 

gain over the 20-year period, the Midwest lost a substantial share, going from 25 

percent in 1970 to 20 percent in 1990. The South was the major gainer. In 1970, 27 

percent of musicians and composers lived there while 32 percent lived in the South 

in 1990. 

The overall trend represented a shift in employment to the South for dancers, 

musicians and composers and to the West for actors and directors. However, no area 
108 I Artists in the Work Force 

had a net loss of any performing artist group over the 1970 to 1990 period. The 

changes in proportion for all three groups are due solely to different rates of growth 

of the performing artist work forces within the regions. 

Distribution by Division 

At the level of Census division, the proportion of actors and directors who live 

in a particular area has been remarkably stable over the last 20 years. The notable 

exceptions are the Pacific region which increased its share from 25 percent in 1970 

to 32 percent in 1990 and the West South Central region (Texas, Arkansas, 

Oklahoma and Louisiana) which decreased its share from about 10 percent in 1970 

to about 5 percent by 1990. Again, these changes reflect solely different growth rates 

of the actor and director work forces in those areas. 

If the last two decades were boom years for actors and directors in the Pacific 

area, they seem to have been bust years for dancers. The Pacific states’ share of 

dancers shifted from 32 percent in 1970 to 19 percent by 1990. The other two areas 

with high concentrations of dancers in 1970 also saw their shares fall. In the Middle 

Atlantic states which include New York, the share fell from 22 to 19 percent over the 

20-year period. In the North East Central states which include Illinois, the 

proportion of dancers fell from 15 percent in 1970 to 12 percent in 1990. 

The big gainers in terms of dancer population were the South Atlantic 

(Maryland to Florida on the Atlantic seaboard) and the West South Central states 

(Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana). From 1970 to 1990 the South Atlantic 

increased its share of resident dancers from 12 to 18 percent; the West South Central 

states, from 6 to 11 percent. 

The geographic distribution of musicians and composers has remained fairly 

stable since 1970. The major shifts have been from the Middle Atlantic states (chiefly 

New York) to the Pacific and South Atlantic states. As with the other performing 

artist occupations, the changes in shares for musicians and composers reflect different 

growth rates. 

Unemployment by Division, 1990 

Nationally, in 1990 the unemployment rate for actors and directors was 13 

percent; for dancers, 7 percent and for musicians and composers, 6 percent. 

However, in areas where the absolute numbers of performing artists are quite high, 

the unemployment rate also tends to be higher than the national average. Using a 

statistical test to determine the degree of trend, where 0 percent indicates no 

relationship and 100 percent indicates a full relationship, the degree to which the 

trend is true for actors and directors is 95 percent; musicians and composers, 59 

percent and dancers, 50 percent. 

Across occupations, four divisions consistently are home to over 10 percent of 

performing artists: Middle Atlantic, East North Central, South Atlantic and Pacific. 

The Middle Atlantic and the Pacific have consistently higher proportions of the 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 109 

nation’s performing artists and unemployment rates consistently higher than the 

national average. The Middle Atlantic had 24 percent of actors and directors in 1990 

with an unemployment rate of 16 percent (compared to 13 percent nationally for 

performers). The Pacific had 32 percent of actors and directors with an 

unemployment rate of 20 percent. The trend holds for the other performing artists 

as well. 

In contrast, the other two major divisions had unemployment rates lower than 

the national average. The East North Central had 10 percent of all actors and 

directors in 1990, but an unemployment rate of 6 percent, less than half the national 

rate. The same held true for dancers (12 percent of dancers, 6 percent unemployment 

rate) and musicians and composers (14 percent with 6 percent unemployment rate). 

In the South Atlantic division the unemployment rate for all three groups of 

performing artists was 5 percent. 

Geographic Concentration of Performing Artists 

Looking at the divisional level, it is clear that performing artists are concentrated 

in specific areas of the country. Most of those performing artists who lived on "one 

of the coasts" lived in the Pacific states (California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and 

Hawaii) if they were in the West or the Middle Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey 

and Pennsylvania) if they were in the Northeast. In 1990, 56 percent of actors and 

directors lived either in the Pacific states (32 percent) or the Middle Atlantic states 

(24 percent). For dancers, musicians and composers, 38 percent lived on either coast. 

Moving to even greater detail, the New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan areas 

were the major areas of residence for performing artists. In 1990, 37 percent of 

actors and directors lived in Los Angeles or New York, with more in Los Angeles. For 

dancers, 16 percent lived in either city, with more in New York. For musicians, 16 

percent lived in these two metro areas, with 8 percent in each. 

In 1990, 60 percent of all employed actors and directors worked in just six states 

(California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts). For employed 

dancers, 39 percent were concentrated in just four states (New York, California, 

Florida and Texas), and the same four states (with California first) provided work for 

40 percent of employed musicians. The reverse side of this concentration finds 25 

states providing only 10 percent of the work for actors and directors in 1990. Half of 

all states plus the District of Columbia offered employment for just 12 percent of the 

nation’s dancers, including three states with no dancer employment reported. Sixteen 

percent of working musicians were spread among half of the states and the District 

of Columbia. 

A significant trend over the last twenty years has been the increasing importance 

of the performing artist workforce in the South, notably dancers and musicianscomposers. By 1990 nearly one third of the members of those two professions were 

concentrated in the South Atlantic division. The overall proportion of actors and 

directors in the South, on the other hand, stayed at about one out of five over the 

twenty years, despite a small increase in their percentage in the South Atlantic states. 
110 I Artists in the Work Force 

Conclusion 

The most recent data from the Census and other sources discussed here leave 

little doubt that performing artists face a cluster of labor market obstacles, ranging 

from a shortage of full time jobs to a lack of steady income from their profession to 

the limited geographic areas where work is likely to be found. As a result, the talents 

and resources of the nation’s performers are significantly underutilized. In the 

interests of promoting and nurturing the arts in this country, the government, 

through NEA, would seem to have a direct stake in improving the employment and 

earnings opportunities for performing artists. 

An understanding of the work force needs of performing artists is shaped by the 

ability to observe and document those needs. This cannot be done with precision at 

present. The incidence of multiple jobs and income sources, and the on-again, offagain employment patterns common in this field complicate any analysis of the 

performers’ work experience. The primary source of data, the Census long form 

questionnaire, is not designed to gather the detailed data needed to explain their 

situation. The authors therefore recommend that the NEA consider how to 

encourage the development of additional data sources which could include: 

(1)	 Special surveys of performing artists. The best way to overcome the gaps left by 

the Census and CPS questionnaires would be to develop a national survey of 

performing artists. This will require cooperation from performing arts unions, 

theatres, dance organizations and others with lists of members of employees from 

which the survey samples could be drawn. Longitudinal studies of performing 

artists as they pursue their careers would be of the utmost importance and 

interest. 

(2)	 Records of organizations in the field, including unions and performing arts 

organizations. Public and private cooperation should be sought in developing 

new data sources, building on existing resources of these organizations. As labor 

organizations in the field develop their own databases and computer capacity, the 

NEA should consider providing technical assistance to help them design data 

systems that will also meet national informational needs through easy 

accessibility and standardized record keeping that does not compromise the 

required level of confidentiality. 

(3) A special Current Population Survey questionnaire on performing arts 

employment. This should be administered periodically to obtain regular, current 

information from the general population on income and employment in 

performing arts occupations. This special CPS should include questions to 

identify persons who consider themselves performing artists and to differentiate 

between their arts related and non-arts related work and income. 

Employment opportunities in the performing arts obviously depend on a 

sustained level of support for drama, dance and music. A continuing priority for 

the Endowment should be to undertake activities that encourage public and 
Employment and Earnings of Performing Artists, 1970 to 1990 I 111 

private investment in the performing arts, as well as to develop and expand 

audiences. Special attention should be given to activities that will generate jobs 

and income for professionals in the performing arts. 

About the Authors 

Ann Kay is a senior member of Ruttenberg, Kilgallon & Associates, a 

Washington, DC, based labor consulting firm. She coordinated the firm’s 1980 

survey of employment and earnings among members of performing arts unions, 

which resulted in the 1981 report, Working--and Not Working--in the Pe~Corming 

Arts. She has also conducted a variety of research and evaluation studies on other 

issues related to employment and skill development. 

Steve Butcher is a doctoral candidate in economics at The American University 

in Washington, DC. He is also employed by Ruttenberg, Kilgallon & Associates 

where he consults for labor unions on a variety of issues including earnings and 

working conditions. His only direct experience with the performing arts was a junior 

high school performance in Peter Pan as Michael; it was panned by the critics. 
IV. Architecture and Design 

Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 

by Harry Hillman Chartrand 

Overview 

Architects and designers are the visual ecologists of our society. They cultivate the 

images and forms that shape the human environment, applying the insights 

and findings of the fine arts to our daily lives. They shape, color and mold the 

skylines of our cities, clothes, shopping centers, cereal packages, houses, furniture, 

TV sets, offices, factories, churches and temples of today’s society. Architects and 

designers contribute what the ancient Greeks called/~asrno~ the right ordering of the 

multiple parts of the world. 

Even the words and sayings of architects and designers form part of our 

contemporary vocabulary. It was Louis Sullivan, architect of the first skyscraper, the 

Wainwright Building in St. Louis (1890), who said, "Form follows function." Frank 

Lloyd Wright coined the phrase, "Organic architecture." Mies van der Rohe, 

godfather of the International Style, is credited with saying, "Less is more." 

If architects and designers are concerned with the present, preservationists are 

dedicated to conserving the past--Williamsburg, for example--while planners are 

concerned with the shape of the future. 

But who are these shapers of image and molders of form? What is their age, race, 

ethnicity, sex and education? Where do they live and work and how much do they 

earn? These questions will be addressed in this study. 

Evidence 

Two principal sets of data will be presented and assessed. Of course, statistics 

cannot explore quality and excellence in architecture and design, but they do provide 

a means to understand the factual context from which quality and excellence emerge. 

The first set of statistics is produced by the Bureau of the Census of the 

Department of Commerce, the National Center for Education Studies of the 

Department of Education, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

Labor. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in the general introduction 

to this report. The second set of data is from membership organizations including the 

American Institute of Architects, the American Society for Landscape Architects, the 

Industrial Designers Society of America, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and 

the American Planning Institute. Advantages and disadvantages of such data sets are 

also in the general introduction. 

112 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 113 

Both data sets have been primarily collected from databases and special studies 

conducted or commissioned by the Research Division of the National Endowment 

for the Arts. These include the biennial Source Book of Arts Statistics. In addition, a 

special data set was provided by Deirdre Gaquin of Washington (1990 Census of 

Population data). 

Difficulties 

Definitional difficulties occur when comparing Census of Population data with 

that from the Bureau of Labor and from representative organizations. For example, 

the Census of Population’s Classified Index of Industries and Occupations identifies 13 

job titles for architects, including landscape architects. Census of Population data is 

presented for all 13 types of architects. In the case of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 

architects and landscape architects are reported separately, as are data from the 

American Institute of Architects and the American Society for Landscape Architects. 

In all cases, however, marine and naval architects are excluded. 

For designers, the situation is worse. The Census of Population for 1980 and 

1990 identifies at least 98 occupational titles under "Designer," ranging from 

window trimmers to industrial designers to flower arrangers to fashion designers. By 

contrast, the Occupational Handbook 1992-93 of the Department of Labor formally 

defines six design occupations as follows: Industrial designers, interior designers, set 

designers, fashion designers, textile designers and floral designers. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, on the other hand, distinguishes between 

designers, interior designers, and merchandising displayers and window trimmers. As 

well, distinct data is available for graphic and industrial designers from the 

representative associations. Educational data provide the finest degree of distinction 

between the various design disciplines. 

In addition, Census of Population data for different years have been derived from 

different sample sizes. For example, data for the 1950 through 1980 Census (Citro 

and Gaquin 1987) are derived from a 5 percent sample, while some Census data for 

1970 through 1990 (Ellis, Beresford 1994) have been derived from a 16.7 percent 

sample. Such differences can cause analysis to be somewhat jerky, bouncing from one 

data definition and sometimes sample size to another. 

Regarding urban and regional planners and preservationists, no Census of 

Population data were available for purposes of this study, so no trend analysis was 

possible. Preservation is, at present, mainly a speciality practiced by architects, 

designers and planners. 

Trends 

A "trend" refers to the general direction of a phenomenon over time. For 

purposes of this study, this means the general direction of demographic 

characteristics, education, employment and earnings of architects and designers. 
114 I Artists in the Work Force 

When discussing trends for a demographic or economic variable, a convenient 

summary measure is the average rate afgrauath. Growth rates have three strengths. 

First, while one cannot compare apples and oranges, one can quite properly compare 

the rate of growth of apples and oranges. Second, growth rates, as a single number, 

provide a succinct summary of trends. Third, theoretically, growth rates can be used 

to project trends into the future, assuming the future reflects the past. 

For purposes of this study, the restricted least squares method is used because it is 

considered the best single indicator of the trend. 

Comparative Occupational Groups 

The general introduction to this NEA report on artists defines the three 

occupational groups of experienced civilian labor force (ECLF), professional specialty 

workers (PSW) and all artists. 

Trends in architect and designer demographics, education, employment and 

income will be compared to these three groups. 

Between 1970 and 1990, the experienced civilian labor force grew at an average 

rate of 24.3 percent each decade from 80.1 million to 123.5 million. In this same 

time period professional specialty workers grew at an average rate of 21.5 percent 

each decade from 11.7 million to 16.6 million workers. Between 1970 and 1990, all 

artists grew at an average rate of 57.1 percent each decade from 11.7 million to 16.6 

million workers. 

The number of architects between 1970 and 1990 grew at an average rate of 60.1 

percent each decade from 56,125 to 157,759. 

Until 1980, decorators and designers were recognized as distinct occupational 

categories in the Census of Population. Drawing upon Citro and Gaquin (1987), the 

distinction is maintained whenever possible. Between 1970 and 1990, decorators and 

designers grew at an average rate of 78.9 percent each decade from 185,954 to 600,810. 

Decorators increased between 1970 and 1990 at an average rate of 82.1 percent 

each decade from 74,004 in 1970 to 240,800 in 1990. During this time designers 

increased at an average rate of 76.9 percent each decade from 111,950 in 1970 to 

360,000 in 1990. 

The total number of artists was 6 percent of all professional specialty workers in 

1970 and had increased to 10 percent by 1990. Architects represented 0.5 percent of 

PSW in 1970 and then increased to 1 percent in 1990. Decorators and designers 

advanced from 1.6 percent of all PSW in 1970 to 3.6 percent in 1990. 

As a percent of all artists, architects went from 5 percent in 1970 to 9.4 percent 

in 1990. During this time decorators and designers represented 27.7 percent of all 

artists in 1970 and 35.8 percent in 1990. 

Architects 

Definitions 

To provide a basic understanding of architectural occupations, descriptions 

derived from the Occupational Handbook 1992-93 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1993) 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 115 

willbe used for architects and landscape architects. 

The Handboole notes that architects provide a variety of services to individuals 

and organizations from initial discussion with clients through constructions 

requiring a variety of skills including design, engineering, managerial and 

supervisory. 

The architect and client must first discuss purposes, requirements and budget. 

Based on these discussions, the architect prepares a report specifying requirements 

and prepares drawings presenting ways to meet a client’s needs. 

After the initial proposal is accepted, the architect develops final construction 

documents showing the building’s appearance, including drawings of structural 

systems (air-conditioning, electrical, heating, plumbing and ventilation) and 

sometimes landscape plans. Architects also specify building materials and sometimes 

interior furnishings. They must follow building codes, zoning bylaws, fire regulations 

and such ordinances as access for the handicapped. 

The architect may assist in getting construction bids, selecting a contractor and 

negotiating contracts. S(he) may be engaged to ensure contractors follow the design, 

use specified materials and meet quality standards. The job is not completed until all 

construction is finished, required tests performed and construction costs paid. 

Architects design a variety of buildings--offlces, apartments, schools, churches, 

factories, hospitals, houses and airports--as well as such multi-building complexes as 

urban centers, college campuses, industrial parks and entire communities. In 

addition to design, architects may advise on site selection, cost and land-use studies 

and long-range land development. 

Some specialize in one type of building, in construction management or in 

managing their own firm, doing little design work. They often work with engineers, 

urban planners, interior designers and landscape architects. 

Landscape Architects 

The Handboak notes that landscape architects design residential areas, parks, 

campuses, shopping centers, golf courses, parkways and industrial parks to be 

functional, beautiful, and compatible with their setting. They plan building 

locations, roads and walkways, arrangements of flowers, shrubs and trees. They 

redesign streets to limit car traffic and improve pedestrian access and safety. They also 

work on natural resource conservation and historical preservation. 

Landscape architects may be hired by organizations like real estate developers 

starting new projects and municipalities constructing airports or parks. Often they 

are involved from project conception and work with architects and engineers 

determining the best arrangement of roads and buildings. They develop plans 

indicating new topology, vegetation, walkways and landscape amenities. 

Landscape architects discuss with clients the purpose of the project and funds 

available. They analyze site elements such as climate, soil, slope, drainage and 

vegetation. They observe the fall of sunlight and access to existing buildings, roads, 

walkways and utilities. Then they prepare preliminary plans which are subject to 
116 I Artists in the Work Force 

change. Many now use Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) and video 

simulators to help clients access proposals. 

Working with other professionals in the design phase, once the design is 

complete, landscape architects draw up detailed plans, including written reports, 

sketches, models, photographs, land-use studies and cost estimates. Once the plan is 

approved, they prepare working drawings showing existing and proposed features, 

outline methods of construction and materials required. Many supervise installation 

of their design. Some are involved in construction, but this is generally done by a 

contractor or developer. 

Some landscape architects work on a variety of projects, while others specialize 

in residential, historical, restoration, water improvements, parks, playgrounds or 

shopping centers. Others work in regional planning and resource development, 

feasibility, environmental impact and cost studies, or site construction. Yet others 

teach at the college or university level. 

Membership 

While Census data does not distinguish between types of architects, two data sets 

provide a more detailed view of the profession: the American Institute of Architects 

(AIA) and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). 

If one accepts the 1990 Census count of 157,759 architects in the experienced 

civilian labor force and, further, that membership in the AIA and ASLA is mutually exclusive (which is not necessarily true), then the 56,802 AIA members represented 36.0 

percent of all architects and the 10,443 ASLA members, 6.6 percent. The remaining 

90,514 or 57.4 percent of Census architects were not affiliated with either organization. 

Age 

Data concerning the age distribution of architects is available only from the 

Census of Population. Accordingly, all architects are reported, including landscape 

architects. (Exhibit 1) 

Between 1970 and 1990 architects of all ages increased at an average rate of 60.1 

percent each decade from 56,125 in 1970 to 157,759 in 1990. 

Architects aged 16 to 24 increased at an average rate of 29.6 percent each decade 

from 3,175 in 1970 to 7,245 in 1990. 

Architects aged 25 to 34 years increased between 1970 and 1990 at an average 

rate of 62.3 percent each decade from 15,300 in 1970 to 53,032 in 1990. As a 

percent of all architects, they increased from 27.7 percent in 1970 to 33.6 percent in 

1990. 

Between 1970 and 1990 architects from 35 and 44 years increased at an average 

rate of 92.6 percent each decade from 15,500 in 1970 to 52,256 in 1990. As a 

percent of all architects they grew from 27.7 percent in 1970 to 33.1 percent in 1990. 

Those aged between 45 and 54 years increased between 1970 and 1990 at an 

average rate of 40.6 percent each decade from 11,900 in 1970 to 24,266 in 1990. As 
 

 

 

Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 117 

Exhibit 1
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Architects
 

by Age Category. 1970 & 1990
 

16-24 Yrs 

65+ Yrs ~ 3,175 

2635 ~ /or 5.6% 

55-64 Yrs 

or 129% 

25-34 Yrs.
 

15,300
 

or 277%
 

11.900 

15,500 1979 or277% 

65+ Yrs 16-24 Yrs. 

5,522~ ~ 7,245 

or3.5 ~ ~/er46% 

~ 

15438 

or 9.8% 

25-34 Yrs. 

53,032 

or33.6% 

45-54 Yrs
 

24266
 

or 15.4%
 

~ 35-44 Yrs. 

1990 ~ 52,256 

or 334% 

a percent of all architects they decreased from 21.2 percent in 1970 to 15.4 percent 

in 1990. 

Architects from 55 to 64 years increased at an average rate 44.0 percent each 

decade from 7,250 in 1970 to 15,438 in 1990. They decreased from 12.9 percent in 

1970 to 9.8 percent in 1990 as a percent of all architects. 

Those over 65 years increased between 1970 and 1990 an average rate of 47.0 

percent each decade from 2,625 in 1970 to 5,522 in 1990. As a percent of all 

architects they went from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 3.5 percent in 1990. 

Ethnicity and Race 

Data concerning ethnicity and race of architects are presented from the 1970, 

1980 and 1990 Census of Population. It reports all architects (Exhibit 2). Data are 

also presented for members of the American Institute for Architecture. The two data 

sets are not directly comparable. 

Between 1970 and 1990 Hispanic architects increased at an average rate of 124 

percent each decade from 938 in 1970 to 8,006 in 1990. This was significantly faster 

than growth of Hispanics in the general labor force (74 percent per decade), faster 

than growth of Hispanics among professional specialty workers (97.6 percent per 

decade), and faster than growth in Hispanics among artists in general (113.6 percent 
118 I Artists in the Work Force 

Exhibit 2 

Percentage Distribution of Census Architects by 

Selected Racial Categories. 1970, 1980 & 1990 

Black Other 

!,273 \ 1,601 

or2.4%~ ~-or3,%

All
 

53,670
 

or 94.6% 1970 

Black Other 

3,013 \ 5,549 

or2.8% ~’x~ ~ or5.2% 

All
 

107,693
 

or 92.0% 1980 

Black Other 

4,429 ~ 10,539 or 2.8°/o ~ ~ or6.7°/o 

All
 

156,874
 

or 90.5% 1990 

per decade). As a percent of all architects, they increased from 1.8 percent in 1970 to 

5.1 percent in 1990. The number of non-Hispanic architects decreased from 98.8 

percent of all architects in 1990 to 94.9 percent in 1990. 

Black or Afro-American architects increased at an average rate of 70.5 percent 

each decade from 1,273 in 1970 to 4,429 in 1990. This was faster than growth of 

whites (59.1 percent per decade), but significantly slower than growth among 

architects of other races, for example Asians (118.7 percent). Black architects did, 

however, increase in numbers faster than blacks in the general labor force (an average 

rate of 26.6 percent per decade), faster than blacks among professional specialty 

workers (at an average rate of 55.2 percent per decade), but slower than blacks among 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 119 

artists in general (at an average rate of 72.3 percent per decade). As a percent of all 

architects, blacks increased from 2.4 percent in 1970 to 2.8 percent in 1990. 

If one compares 1990 Census data with reported 1989 members of the American 

Institute of Architects. Census Hispanic architects were 5.1 percent of all architects 

compared with 2.9 percent of AIA members. Census blacks represented 2.8 percent 

of all architects compared to 1.7 percent of AIA members. Whites represented 90.5 

percent of all Census architects compared to 89.4 percent of AIA members. 

Residence 

Data concerning the residence of architects is available from the Census of 

Population and the two representative architectural associations. It is presented here for 

the four principal Census regions: the Northeast, South, Midwest and West (Exhibit 3). 

Exhibit 3
 

Percentage Distribution Architects by Region
 

1970 & 1990
 

West 

13,625 

or 24.3% Northeast 

15,375 

or 274% 

Midwest South 12,975 14.150 or 23 1% 1970 or 25.2% 

West
 

45,456


or 28.8%
 

Midwest South 27,556 43,141 or 175% or 27.4% 1990 

Between 1970 and 1990 architects living in the Northeast increased at an average 

rate of 69.6 percent each decade from 15,375 in 1970 to 41,596 in 1990. As a 

percent of all architects, they decreased from 27.4 percent in 1970 to 26.4 percent in 

1990. They were 26.4 percent of all architects in 1990. 

Architects living in the South increased at an average rate of 60.3 percent each 

decade from 14,150 in 1970 to 43,141 in 1990. They were 27.4 percent of all 

architects in 1990. 
120 I Artists in the Work Force 

Midwestern architects increased at an average rate of 41 percent each decade from
 

12,975 in 1970 to 27,566 in 1990. They were 17.5 percent of all architects in 1990.
 

Western architects increased at an average rate of 66.5 percent each decade from 

13,625 in 1970 to 45,456 in 1990. They represented 28.8 percent of all architects in 

1990. 

A comparison of the 1990 Census regional distribution with the 1990 

membership in the American Institute of Architects and the 1991 membership in the 

American Society for Landscape Architects shows that: 

 ̄ the Northeast accounted for 26.4 percent of Census architects, 21.5 percent of 

AIA members and 21.4 percent of ASLA members. 

 ̄ the South accounted for 27.4 percent of Census architects, 31.8 percent of AIA 

members and 34.7 percent of ASLA members. 

 ̄ the Midwest accounted for 17.5 percent of Census architects, 19.9 percent of 

AIA members and 17.4 percent of ASLA members, and 

 ̄ the West accounted for 28.8 percent of Census architects, 26.4 percent of AIA 

members and 26.5 percent of ASLA members. 

Gender 

Data concerning the gender of architects is available from the Census of 

Population and from reporting members of the AIA. 

Between 1970 and 1990 female architects increased on an average rate of 180.1 

percent per decade from 2,075 in 1970 to 23,723 in 1990. This compares with an 

average rate growth among women in the ECLF of 24.5 percent, of 41.1 percent 

among PSW and 86.9 percent among all artists. As a percentage of all architects, 

women went from 3.7 percent in 1970 to 17.7 percent in 1990. 

Comparing the 1990 Census with the reported 1989 AIA members shows 

women were 17.7 percent of Census architects and 9.2 percent of AIA members. 

Education and Licensing Requirements 

According to the Occupational Handbook, all states and the District of Columbia 

require licensing before calling oneself an architect or contracting to provide 

architectural services. While many architectural school graduates work in the field 

without being licensed, a licensed architect is legally responsible for all work. 

Licensing usually requires a professional architectural degree, a period of practical 

training or internship (usually three years) and passing the Architect Registration 

Examination. 

In most states the professional degree is from one of 96 architectural schools 

accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. There are several types 

of degree. Over half of all architects have a five-year Bachelor of Architecture. There 

is a two-year Master’s with a pre-professorial degree in architecture or a selected area 

and three- or four-year Master’s for those with a degree in another discipline. Many 

combinations and variations of these programs also exist. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 [ 121 

A typical five-year Bachelor program includes architectural history and theory, 

building design including technical and legal requirements, math, physical sciences 

and liberal arts. Many schools also offer graduate programs beyond a professional 

degree for research, teaching and certain specialties. 

With respect to landscape architects, the Handboate notes that a Bachelor’s or 

Master’s degree in landscape architecture is usually required. The Bachelor’s program 

is usually four to f~ve years. Of the two types of Master’s degrees, a three-year program 

is for those with a Bachelor’s degree in another discipline (most common), and a twoyear program is for those with a Bachelor’s in landscape architecture. 

In 1990, 51 colleges and universities offered 61 undergrad and grad programs 

accredited by the American Society for Landscape Architecture. Typically, courses 

include surveying, landscape design and construction, ecology, structural design, city 

and regional planning, history of landscape architecture, plant and soil science, 

geology, design and color theory and general management. The design studio is an 

important aspect of the curriculum. Students are assigned real projects providing 

hands-on experience. Prerequisites often include English, math and social science. 

Some 44 states require licensing based on the Uniform National Examination 

(UNE), admission to which usually requires a degree from an accredited school plus 

one to four years work experience. Some states require an additional exam on law and 

plants indigenous to that state. The federal government does not require a license. 

In states requiring licenses, entrants are called interns until licensed. They may 

do research, prepare base maps or participate in actual design work, supervised by a 

licensed landscape architect who takes legal responsibility. After several years beyond 

receiving their license, they may become associates or partners, or open their own oflqces. 

Attainment 

Data concerning the educational attainment of architects is available from the 

Census of Population, the Department of Education and the American Society for 

Landscape Architects. 

Architects with only elementary education declined at an average rate of-56.1 

percent each decade from 1,150 in 1970 to 158 in 1990. As a percent of all architects 

they decreased from 2.1 percent in 1970 to 0.1 percent in 1990. (Exhibit 4) 

Architects with one and three years of high school education decreased at an 

average rate of-8.6 percent each decade from 1,600 in 1970 to 1,150 in 1990. 

Compared to all architects, they declined from 2.9 percent in 1970 to 0.7 in 1990. 

Between 1970 and 1990 architects with four years of high school increased at an 

average rate of 13.1 percent each decade from 4,725 in 1970 to 6,676 in 1990. As a percent of all architects, they decreased from 8.4 percent in 1970 to 4.2 percent in 1990. 

Architects with one to three years of college or university education increased 

between 1970 and 1990 at an average rate of 68.8 percent each decade from 7,500 

in 1970 to 23,256 in 1990. Compared to all architects, they increased from 13.4 

percent in 1970 to 14.7 percent in 1990. 

Architects with four years or more of college or university education increased at 
 

122 I Artists in the Work Force 

Exhibit 4 Percentage Distribution of Degrees Awarded in Percentage Distribution of Census Architecture and Landscape Architecture Architects by Education 1988-1989 Elementary .~... =/~ 1-3 YrSl,600 1970 & 1990 ~ High School

S D~ctora130 1,150

or 2.1% or 2.9% or 0.5% 

Masters 

High School 

4 Yrs 

1,675

or 26.2% 

4,725 

or 8.4% 

College 

1-3 

7,500 College Bachelor or 13.4% 4,681 ~ 4 Yrs or 73.3% 41,150 Architecture 1970 or 73.3% 

h School 

1-3 Yrs Doctoral 

Masters
 

280
 

or 24.1%
 

High School 

4 Yrs 

6,676 

or 4.2% 

College 

1-3 Bachelor 

23,256 884 

er 14.7% or 75.9% Landscape Architecture College 

4 Yrs 

126,519 

or 80.2% 1990 

an average rate of 68.4 percent each decade from 41,150 in 1970 to 126,519 in 

1990. As a percent of all architects, they increased from 73.3 percent in 1970 to 80.2 

percent in 1990. 

Degrees and Enrollment 

Using Department of Education data, in 1988-89 there were 6,386 college or 

university degrees awarded in architecture at the Bachelor level (73.3 percent of 

degrees), Master’s (26.2 percent) and Doctoral (0.5 percent). There were 1,164 

degrees in landscape architecture awarded at the Bachelor level (75.9 percent) and at 

the Master’s level (24.1 percent). Data from the American Society for Landscape 

Architecture indicate an increasing professionalism in the field. In 1971 there were 

22 accredited programs in landscape architecture of which 18.2 percent were at the 

Master’s level. By 1991 there were 64 accredited programs of which 36.1 percent 

were at the Master’s level. Female students in accredited programs in 1990-91 

represented almost 31 percent of all students, compared to 15 percent of 1990 

Census architects. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 123 

Employment 

Data concerning the employment of architects are available from the Census of 

Population, Census of Service Industries and from two representative associations. 

Census data do not distinguish landscape architects from architects in general. 

Architects employed in the private sector increased at an average rate of 76.2 

percent each decade from 28,225 in 1970 to 92,029 in 1990. As a percent of all 

architects, they increased from 49.3 percent in 1970 to 59.8 percent in 1990. (See 

Exhibit 5.) 

Between 1970 and 1990 architects employed in the public sector increased at an 

average rate of 25.3 percent from 6,775 in 1970 to 11,208 in 1990. As a percent of 

architects, they decreased from 12.2 percent in 1970 to 7.3 percent in 1990. 

Self-employed architects increased at an average rate of 47.1 percent each decade 

from 20,375 in 1970 to 50,535 in 1990. As a percent of all architects, they decreased 

from 36.7 percent in 1970 to 32.8 percent in 1990. 

The unemployment rate for architects was 1.2 percent in 1970 and 2.4 percent in 

1990. This compares with experienced civilian labor force unemployment of 4.1 percent 

in 1970 and 5.5 percent in 1990. For professional special workers the corresponding 

rates were 1.8 percent unemployed in 1970 and 2.1 percent in 1990. For all artists, the 

corresponding rates were 4.5 percent in 1970 and 4.8 percent in 1990. 

The 1980 and 1990 Census shows that full-time architects increased as a percentage of all architects from 70.7 percent in 1980 to 73.2 percent in 1990. Accordingly, 

more than a quarter of all architects work only part-time. Female architects accounted 

for 11.8 percent of full-time architects in 1990, but 25.7 percent of part-time architects. 

Exhibit 5 

Growth Rate of Census Architects by Class of Work 

1970-1990 

% 25 50 75 100 

All 59.6% 

Private 76.2% 

Public 25.3% 

SelfEmployed 47.1% 

I 

1970-1990 
 

124 I Artists in the Work Force 

By Industry 

While over 75 percent of Census architects in 1990 were employed in the 

professional service industries (mainly architectural, engineering and surveying 

firms), architects were also employed elsewhere. Of the other industries reporting 

architects, 12 percent were in agriculture, 3.5 percent in public administration, 2.8 

percent in both construction and manufacturing, 2.1 percent in transportation, 

communications and public utilities, 2.1 percent in educational services, 1.4 percent 

in retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate and business and repair services 

industries (Exhibit 6). 

Exhibit 6
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Architects
 

by Major Industries. 1990
 

5 10 15 O00’s 

i i i I 

Agriculture 17,000 or 12.0% 

Construction 4,000 or 2.8% 

Manufacturing 4,000 or 2.8% 

Transportation, Communications & Public Utilities 

3,000 or 2.1% Total Reported

142,000 architects 

Retail Trade 2,000 or 1.4% or 100.0% 

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate 2,000 or 1.4% 

Business & Repair Services 2,000 or 1.4% 

Educational Services 3,000 or 2.1% 

Public Administration 5,000 or 3.5% 

*excludes 107,000 in Professional Services or 75.4% 

The Census of Service industries provides a breakout of architects from 

landscape architects. In 1987, within the broad category called Construction, 

Finance and Service Industries, 62,520 architects were employed, representing 

0.5 percent of employment in industries reporting these occupations. Of these, 85 

percent were general architects working in miscellaneous service industries; 8.4 

percent were landscape architects employed in miscellaneous service industries; 4 

percent were general architects employed in the construction industries and 2.7 

percent were general architects in business services industries. 

Establishments 

Architectural services are provided by three types of businesses: architectural, 

engineering and surveying service establishments. In 1982 engineering 

establishments employed 5,218 architects (compared to 31,871 by architectural 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 125 

firms), while in 1987 surveying establishments employed 158 architects (compared 

to 40,583 by architectural service firms). For purposes of this analysis, no further 

reference will be made to engineering or surveying service establishments. 

The number of architectural services firms increased from 13,414 in 1982 to 

17,777 in 1987. Total receipts increased from $5.9 to $9.9 billion. Paid employees 

increased from 105,270 to 136,809, while architects as a percent of total 

employment declined from 30.3 percent to 29.7 percent. The number of sole 

proprietors increased from 8,039 in 1982 to 8,950 in 1987. Compared to all 

establishments, sole proprietorships declined from 59.9 percent in 1982 to 50.4 

percent in 1987. 

Regarding the distribution of architectural establishments, staff and fees by 

project type, source and client for 1982 and 1987, in-house projects generated $5.1 

billion in 1982 and $8.6 billion in 1987. Of total in-house work, commercial 

buildings accounted for more than 40 percent, while public and institutional 

facilities accounted for more than 25 percent in each year. All other types of projects 

accounted for less than 10 percent of revenues. 

As to the source of receipts including work done outside of architectural firms, 

on average for both years: architectural services, excluding landscape architecture, 

produced more than 75 percent of revenues; work done outside, but reimbursable, 

more than 10 percent; consulting and design engineering more than 6 percent and 

all other activities accounted for the balance. 

Regarding fees from clients, on average: industrial, business and commercial 

clients paid more than 33 percent; government more than 23 percent; private 

institutions more than 17 percent; private individuals more than 8 percent and all 

other clients, less than 19 percent. 

Regionally, the Northeast accounted for 21.9 percent of all establishments in 

1987 and 24.1 percent of all receipts; the South for 32.1 percent of the firms and 

29.4 percent of receipts; the Midwest for 18.1 percent of firms and receipts and the 

West for 28.7 percent of firms and 28.4 percent of receipts. 

By contrast, firms in the Northeast belonging to the American Institute for 

Architecture accounted for 23 percent of all AIA firms; the South for 32 percent; the 

Midwest for 15 percent and the West for 30 percent. 

Income 

Data about the income of architects are available from the Census of Population 

and two representative associations. Census data due to definition changes are 

presented only for 1980 and 1990, so no meaningful growth rate analysis is possible. 

In 1990 architects working full-time and earning $7,500 or less accounted for 

1.9 percent of all architects; those earning $7,500 to $14,999 in the year before the 

Census, 3.3 percent; $15,000 to $24,999, 13.6 percent; $25,000 to $34,999, 23.4 

percent; $35,000 to $49,999, 29.4 percent; $50,000 to $69,999, 16.2 percent; 

$70,000 to $99,999, 6.2 percent and those earning more than $100,000, 6 percent 

(Exhibit 7). 
 

126 I Artists in the Work Force 

Exhibit 7
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Architects
 

by Full-Time Earnings in Year before Census
 

1980 & 1990
 

$100,000 or more Under $7,500 

4,!72 ~-- 1,789 

$70,000-99,999 or 5,1%"~ ~ or22% 

5,071 $7,500-14,999 

or 6.2% 3,795 

0r4,7% 

$50,000-69,999

12,618

or15.5% $15,000-24,999 

12,116 

or14.9% 

~ ,000-34,999

21,389 

or26.3% 

$35,000-49,999

20,546 1860 

0r25.2% 

$100,000 or more Under$7,500

7271 ~ 2,324orl.9% $70,000-99,999 or 6.0%~ 7,550 $7,500-14,999 

or62% 3.968 

or3.3% 

$50,000-69,899


19,733


or6.2% $15,000-24,999

16,545

or13.6% 

~,,.~ ,000-34,999

28,492 

or23.4% 

$35,000-49,999 

35,691 1888 

or29.4% 

Median income for full-time male architects was $40,110 and for females, 

$29,451 or 73.4 percent of males. Median full-time earnings of male architects were 

141 percent of the median full time earnings of males in the experienced civilian 

labor force; equal to earnings of male professional specialty workers and 129 percent 

of artists’ median full-time earnings. 

Architects living in households with an annual income under $15,000 in the year 

before the Census accounted for 3.4 percent of all architects; those earning $15,000 

to $24,999, 5.9 percent; $25,000 to $34,999, 11.4 percent; $35,000 to $49,999, 

20.4 percent; $50,000 to $64,999, 19.2 percent; $65,000 to $94,999, 23.4 percent; 

$95,000 to $124,999, 8.2 percent and those earning more than $125,000 the year 

before the Census, 8 percent. 

The median household income for male architects was $56,952 and for females, 

$55,639 or 97.7 percent of males. The median household income with either a male 

or female architect was $56,773. Median household income of all architects was 140 

percent that of the experienced civilian labor force, 109 percent of professional 

specialty workers and 128 percent of artists. 

Exhibit 8 shows the median annual compensation of AIA members by position 

in 1990. 

Members of the American Society for Landscape Architects working in the 

private sector in 1991 had an annual median income, from all sources, of $43,575. 
 

Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 127 

Exhibit 8 

Median Annual Compensation of Members of the 

American Institute of Architects by Position. 1990. 

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 

I I I I 

Principal $57,700 

4,282 Positionsin 2,481 Firms 

Associate $45,000 1,655 Positions in 686 Firms 

Manager $42,000 

1,234Positionsin 412 Firms 

Architect Ill $37,000 1,262 Positions in 427 Firms 

Architect II $33,800
 4,282 Positions in 2,481 Firms
 

Architects I $30,000
 

4,282 Positions in 2,481 Firms
 

Intern $24,000
 2,884 Positions in 1,224 Firms
 

Landscape Architect $33,000 

120 Positions in 62 Firms 

Those working in the public sector earned $41,475, while those in academic 

positions earned $49,350. 

Designers 

To provide a basic understanding of design occupations, descriptions derived 

from the OccupationalHandboale 1992-93 Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1993) are given 

here. 

Designers organize and design articles, products and materials to serve a purpose 

and to be visually pleasing. Pleasant surroundings, beautiful clothes and floral 

arrangements boost our spirits, while eye-catching products and packaging are more 

likely to attract buyers. Designers usually specialize, for example on cars, furniture, 

home appliances, industrial equipment, movie and theater sets, packaging, flower 

arrangements, etc. 

In developing a design they first determine the needs of the client and potential 

users. They consider size, shape, weight, color, materials and the way a product 

functions, as well as maintenance, safety and cost. They take into account--and 

often set--style and fashion trends. They usually sketch several possible designs 

which are present for final selection to an art or design director, a product 
128 I Artists in the Work Force 

development team, a play, film or television director, or a client. 

The designer then makes a model, sample or detailed plan drawn to scale. 

Increasingly, Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) is used, while industrial 

designers use Computer Aided Industrial Design (CAID) to create a design and 

communicate it to automated production tools. 

Designers may supervise craft workers who carry out the design. Owners may 

devote much time to developing business contacts and to administrative tasks like 

reviewing catalogs and samples. 

Design is not one but a number of fields including: 

 ̄ Industrial Designers develop and design manufactured products like appliances, 

cars, computers, medical, office and recreation equipment and children’s toys. 

They combine artistic talent with market research on product use, marketing, 

materials and production methods to create the most functional and appealing 

design and make products competitive in the marketplace. 

 ̄ Interior Designers plan space and furnish interiors of homes, hotels, offices, 

public buildings, restaurants, stores and theaters. With a client’s tastes and needs 

in mind they prepare working drawings and specifications for interior 

construction, furnishings, lighting and finishes including crown moldings, 

coordinating colors and selecting furnishings, floor and window coverings. They 

also plan additions and renovations. They must design in accordance with 

federal, state and local building codes. 

 ̄ Set Designers study scripts, confer with directors and conduct research to 

determine appropriate styles and then design sets for film, television and theater. 

 ̄ Fashion Designers design wearing apparel and accessories. Some high-fashion 

designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. They make fashion 

by establishing the "line" and colors. Some cater to specialty stores or highfashion department stores. They design original garments, as well as follow 

established trends. Most work for apparel manufacturers and adapt clothing to 

the mass market. 

 ̄ Textile Designers design fabrics for garments, upholstery, rugs and other 

products using their knowledge of materials and fashion trends. 

 ̄ Floral Designers cut and arrange fresh, dried or artificial flowers and foliage into 

designs expressing the sentiments of the sender. Duties depend on the size of the 

shop and the number of designers. 

Membership 

While Census data does not distinguish between types of decorators and 

designers, it does identify 98 distinct occupations. Two data sets provide a more 

detailed view of the profession. The first is from the Industrial Designers Society of 

America (IDSA). The second is from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. 

Summary findings on data from all federal sources and from the two representative 

associations are given below. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 129 

Age 

Data concerning the age distribution of decorators and designers is available only 

from the Census of Population and only for combined decorators and designers. The 

combined group of all ages increased between 1970 and 1990 at an average rate of 

78.9 percent each decade from 185,954 in 1970 to 600,810 in 1990. 

The combined group aged 16 to 24 years increased at an average rate of 42.3 

percent each decade from 28,765 in 1970 to 65,526 in 1990. As a percent of all 

combined decorators and designers, they declined from 15.5 percent in 1970 to 10.9 

percent in 1990 (Exhibit 9). 

Exhibit 9 

Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Decorators & 

Designers by Age Category. 1970 & 1990. 

65+ Yrs. 

7354 55-64 Yrs 

/or 155% 

45-54 Yrs
 

36,468
 

or 196%
 

25-34 Yrs. 

48,478 

or261% 

42.900 

or 23.1% 1970 

65+ Yrs 16-24 Yrs. ~ 65,526 

or2.9%  ̄ or29% 

50,388
 

or84%
 

25-34 Yrs. 

45-54 Yrs 200,628 

97,821 or 33 4% 

or 163% 

35-44 Yrs 1990 ~,..~169,075 0r28.1% 

Decorators and designers aged 25 to 34 years increased at an average rate of 91.9 

percent each decade from 48,478 in 1970 to 200,628 in 1990. As a percent of 

combined decorators and designers they increased from 26.1 percent in 1970 to 33.4 

percent in 1990. 

Combined decorators and designers aged 35 to 44 years increased at an average 

rate of 112.2 percent each decade from 42,900 in 1970 to 169,075 in 1990. As a 

percent of all the combined group they increased from 23.1 in 1970 to 28.1 in 1990. 

Between 1970 and 1990 decorators and designers aged 45 to 54 increased at an 

average rate of 71.4 percent each decade from 36,468 in 1970 to 97,821 in 1990. As 
130 I Artists in the Work Force 

a percent of all decorators and designers they decreased from 19.6 percent in 1970 to 

16.3 percent in 1990. 

The group of decorators and designers aged 55 to 64 years increased at an 

average rate of 34.5 percent each decade from 29,039 in 1970 to 50,388 in 1990. As 

a percent of all decorators and designers, they decreased from 15.6 percent in 1970 

to 8.4 percent in 1990. 

The group 65 years and older increased at an average rate of 54.6 percent each 

decade from 7,354 in 1970 to 17,372 in 1990. As a percent of all decorators and 

designers, they decreased from 4 percent in 1970 to 2.9 percent in 1990. 

Ethnicity and Race 

Data concerning ethnicity and race of combined decorators and designers is 

presented from the 1970, 1980 and 1990 Census of Population. 

Between 1970 and 1990 Hispanic decorators and designers grew at an average 

rate of 130 percent each decade from 6,815 in 1970 to 32,296 in 1990. This was 

significantly faster than growth of Hispanics in the general labor force (an average 

rate of 74 percent per decade), faster than growth of Hispanics among professional 

specialty workers (an average rate of 97.6 percent per decade) and faster than growth 

in Hispanics among artists in general (an average rate of 113.6 per decade). As a 

percent of all decorators and designers, they increased from 2.9 percent in 1970 to 

5.3 percent in 1990. 

Between 1970 and 1990 black or Afro-American decorators and designers 

increased at an average rate of 106.5 percent each decade from 4,445 in 1970 to 

21,204 in 1990. This was faster than growth of whites (an average rate of 59.7 

percent per decade), but significantly slower than growth of decorators and designers 

of other races (an average rate of 180.5 percent). Black decorators and designers did, 

however, increase faster than blacks in the general labor force (an average rate of 26.6 

percent per decade), faster than blacks among professional specialty workers (an 

average rate of 55.2 percent per decade) and faster than blacks among all artists (an 

average rate of 72.3 percent per decade). As a percent of all decorators and designers, 

blacks went from 1.9 percent in 1970 to 3.6 percent in 1990. Whites declined from 

96 percent in 1970 to 90.2 in 1990. Other races increased from 2.1 percent in 1970 

to 6.2 percent in 1990 (Exhibit 10). 

Residence 

Data concerning the residence of decorators and designers came from the Census 

of Population, the Industrial Designers Society of America and the American 

Institute of Graphic Arts. It is presented for the Northeast, South, Midwest and West 

(Exhibit 11). 

Designers and decorators living in the Northeast increased at an average rate of 

44.8 percent each decade from 75,766 in 1970 to 149,888 in 1990. Compared to all 

designers, they decreased from 32.5 percent in 1970 to 25 percent in 1990. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 131 

Exhibit 10 Exhibit 11 

Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Decorators & Designers by Selected Decorators & Designers by Region Racial Category. 1970, 1980 & 1990. 1970 & 1990 

Black Other West 4,445 4,941 44,474 or 1.9%-"’~ ~" or 2.1% or 19.1% No,beast 

75,766 

or32.5% 

Midwest White 58,764 223,504 or 25.2% South or 96.0%~.._,.,~ 53,886 1970 or 23.1% 1BTB 

B{ack
 

10,942 Other
 West
 or 3.2%-""~
 145,527~ or 3,9% or 24.2% Northeast 

Midwest
 

314,379
 

White 137,1

or 22.8% or 92.9%~,~ South ~ 168,390

or28.0% 1990 

198B 

Black
 

21,204
 Other
 

or 3.6%-’~
 or 6.2% 

White
 

538,400
 

or 90.2%~_.~
 

1990 

Those living in the South increased at an average rate of 78.‘5 percent each 

decade from ’53,886 in 1970 to 168,390 in 1990. Compared to all designers, they 

grew from 23.1 percent in 1970 to 28 percent in 1990. 

Midwestern designers and decorators increased at an average rate of 58.5 percent 

from 58,764 in 1970 to 137,00‘5 in 1990. As a percent of the total, they decreased 

from 25.2 percent in 1970 to 22.8 percent in 1990. 

Designers and decorators in the West increased at an average rate of 86.9 percent 
132 I Artists in the Work Force 

each decade from 44,474 in 1970 to 145,527 in 1990. As a percent of all designers, 

they increased from 19.1 percent in 1970 to 24.2 percent in 1990. 

By comparison, for 1987 members of the American Institute for Graphic Arts: 

Northeast, 42 percent; South, 17 percent; Midwest, 17 percent and West 

22 percent. And for members of the Industrial Designers Society of America: 

Northeast, 29.7 percent; South 16 percent; Midwest 31.9 percent and West, 22.4 

percent. 

Gender 

Data concerning gender is available from the Census of Population and reporting 

members of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. 

Between 1970 and 1990 female decorators and designers increased at an average 

rate of 106.4 percent per decade from 71,262 in 1970 to 333,032 in 1990. This 

compares with an average rate growth per decade of women among the experienced 

civilian labor force of 24.5 percent; among professional specialty workers, 41.1 

percent and among all artists, 86.9 percent. As a percentage of all decorators and 

designers, women increased from 38.3 percent in 1970 to 55.4 percent in 1990. 

Female decorators increased at an average rate of 100 percent per decade from 

30,717 in 1970 to 176,500 in 1990. As a percentage of all decorators, women 

increased from 58.5 percent in 1970 to 73.3 percent in 1990. 

Female designers also increased from 1970 to 1990, growing at an average rate 

of 116 percent per decade from 27,975 in 1970 to 156,500 in 1990. As a percentage 

of all designers women went from 25 percent in 1970 to 43.5 percent in 1990. 

By contrast, in 1987, 46 percent of reporting members of the American Institute 

for Graphic Arts were women. 

Education Requirements 

According to the Occupational Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1993), 

creativity is crucial for designers and decorators, together with a strong color sense, 

an eye for detail, balance and proportion and sensitivity to beauty. Sketching is 

especially important for fashion design. Some formal preparation in design is 

important in all but floral design. 

Educational requirements for entry vary. Industrial design requires a Bachelor’s 

degree, interior design a four-year Bachelor’s in fine art. Interior designers must also 

be familiar with federal, state and local building codes, as well as toxicity and 

flammability standards. In fashion design some formal education, such as a two-to 

four-year degree is important, plus knowledge of textiles, fabrics, ornamentation and 

fashion trends. Floral designers usually 

need only a high school degree as most learn on the job. 

Formal training in some design disciplines is available from professional schools 

offering certificates or associate degrees. Four-year college and university programs 

grant a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The curriculum includes art and art history, principles 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 133 

of design, designing and sketching. Also, specialized programs like garment 

construction, textiles, mechanical and architectural drawing, computerized design, 

sculpture, architecture, marketing and basic engineering. Persons with architectural 

training also qualify for some design occupations, especially interior design. 

Computer aided design is taught, especially in industrial design. 

In 1991, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design accredited 166 

post-secondary institutions in art and design. Most award a degree in art, some in 

industrial, interior, textile, graphic or fashion design. Many allow entry into a 

Bachelor’s program only after a year of basic art and design courses. 

The Foundation for Interior Design Education Research accredits interior design 

programs and schools. There are 89 accredited programs in the U.S. and Canada 

located in schools of art, architecture and home economics. Some colleges and 

universities offer degrees in floriculture and floristry and provide training in flower 

marketing and shop management. Floral design is also taught in private schools. 

Interior design is the only design discipline subject to government regulation. 

The District of Columbia licenses and 14 states regulate use of the title. Membership 

in a professional association is a mark of achievement, usually requiring completion 

of three or four years of post-secondary education in the field, at least two years of 

practical experience and completion of the National Council for Interior Design 

Qualification Examination. 

Educational Attainment 

Data concerning the educational attainment of decorators and designers is 

available from the Census of Population (for combined decorators and designers), 

from the Department of Education and from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. 

Decorators and designers with only elementary education declined from 10,823 

in 1970 to 9,745 in 1990. Compared to all decorators and designers, they decreased 

from 5.8 percent in 1970 to 1.6 percent in 1990 (Exhibit 12). 

Those decorators and designers with one to three years of high school increased 

at an average rate of 23.8 percent each decade from 22,869 in 1970 to 33,823 in 

1990. Compared to all decorators and designers, however, they decreased from 12.3 

percent in 1970 to 5.6 percent in 1990. 

Those with four years of high school increased at an average rate of 29.8 percent 

per decade from 62,743 in 1970 to 111,573 in 1990. They decreased, however, 

compared to all in the field from 33.7 percent in 1970 to 18.6 in 1990. 

Decorators and designers with one to three years of college or university 

increased at an average rate of 120.5 percent each decade from 49,375 in 1970 to 

230,409 in 1990. Compared to all in the field they increased from 26.6 percent in 

1970 to 38.4 percent in 1990. 

Those with four or more years of college or university education increased at an 

average rate of 117.2 percent each decade from 40,144 in 1970 to 215,240 in 1990. 

Compared to all decorators and designers they increased from 21.6 percent in 1970 

to 35.8 percent in 1990. 
134 I Artists in the Work Force 

Exhibit 12
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Decorators &
 

Designers by Education. 1970 & 1990.
 

High School 1-3 ¥rs

~ 22,869 

or12.3% Elementa~j
 

10,823
 

or 5.8%
 

High School
 

4 Yrs
 

62,743
 

or 33.7%
 

~’~x College 

1-3 Yrs 

49,375 

College or 26.6%
 

4 Yrs+
 

40,144
 

or 21.6% 1970
 

High School 

~.~1-3 Yrs 

33,823

or5.6% Elementary
 

9,7454
 

or 1.6%
 

High School 

4 Yrs 

111,573 

or18.6% 

College College 4 Yrs+ 1-3 Yrs 215,240 230,409 or35.8% 1996 or38.4% 

Degrees and Enrollment 

Department of Education data shows that 5,054 college or university degrees 

were awarded in 1988-89 in design at the Bachelor level (93.3 percent) and Master’s 

level (6.7 percent). 

In 1987 there were 174 graduate design programs offered by American colleges 

and universities of which 35.1 percent were in graphic design, 13.2 percent in 

industrial design, 28.8 percent in interior design and 23 percent in textile design. At 

both the Bachelor and Master level, percentages of students enrolled and graduated 

were highest in graphic design. Interior design, industrial design and 

communications design were the other three areas largest in enrollment and degrees 

awarded. 

By contrast with 1990 Census figures, of reporting members of the American 

Institute for Graphic Arts, 13 percent had roughly three years of college or university 

compared to 38.4 percent for all decorators and designers. And 87 percent had four 

years or more of college or university education compared to 35.8 percent for all 

decorators and designers. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 135 

Employment 

Data concerning the employment of decorators and designers is available from 

the Census of Population, the Census of Service Industries and from representative 

associations. 

Decorators and designers employed in the private sector increased at an average 

rate of 69.9 percent each decade from 144,554 in 1970 to 416,352 in 1990. As a 

percent of all decorators and designers, they decreased from 80.4 percent in 1970 to 

72.1 percent in 1990. 

Those employed in the public sector increased at an average rate of 68.4 percent 

each decade from 5,105 in 1970 to 15,046 in 1990. Compared to all in the field, 

they declined from 2.8 percent in 1970 to 2.6 percent in 1990. 

Self-employed decorators and designers increased at an average rate of 115.1 each 

decade from 28,586 in 1970 to 142,178 in 1990. As a percent of the field, they 

increased from 15.9 percent in 1970 to 24.6 percent in 1990. 

The unemployment rate for combined decorators and designers was 3.3 percent 

in 1970 and 3.9 percent in 1990. This compares with the experienced civilian labor 

force rate of unemployment of 4.1 percent in 1970 and 5.5 percent in 1990. For 

professional speciality workers the corresponding rates were 1.8 percent in 1970 and 

2.1 percent in 1990. For all artists the corresponding rates were 4.5 percent in 1970 

and 4.8 percent in 1990. 

Data for full- and part-time decorators and designers are from the 1980 and 

1990 Census. Drawing upon work by Ellis and Beresford (1994), full-time 

decorators and designers increased compared to all decorators and designers from 

53.8 percent in 1980 to 54.4 percent in 1990. Accordingly, nearly half of all 

decorators and designers worked only part-time. Female decorators and designers 

accounted for 45.5 percent of full-time workers in 1990, but 72 percent of part-time. 

By Industry 

Exhibit 13 presents the distribution of Census combined decorators and 

designers by major industries in 1990. Over 80 percent were employed in retail trade 

(29.4 percent), business and repair industries (26.4 percent) and manufacturing 

industries (24.9 percent). Other professional services industries employed 7.7 

percent. There were 2.6 percent in wholesale trade; 2.1 percent in transportation, 

communications and public utilities; 1.5 percent in construction, entertainment and 

recreation; 1.3 percent in educational services and less than 1 percent in finance, 

insurance, real estate, public administration, agricultural industries, personal services 

industries and health services. Decorators and designers represented 0.5 percent of 

total employment in industries reporting these occupations. 

In 1987 the broad Census category called Construction, Finance and Service 

industries accounted for 61,130 employed decorators and designers, including 

48,040 designers (excluding interior designers) and 15,090 interior designers. In 

total, they represented 0.5 percent of total employment in industries reporting these 
136 I Artists in the Work Force 

Exhibit 13
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Decorators &
 

Designers by Major Industries. 1990.
 

50 100 150 000’s 

Total Decorators & Designers 531,000 

Agriculture 3,000 or 0.6% 

~ Construction 8,000 or 1.5% 

Manufacturing 

132,000 or 24.9% 

m Transportation, Communications & Public Utilities 11,000 or 2.1% 

W Wholesale Trade 14,000 or 2.6% 

~ Retail Trade 

156,000 or 29.4% 

~ Finance, Insurance & Real Estate 4,000 or 0.8% 

~ Business & Repair Services 

140,000 or 26.4% 

Personal Services excl. Private Households 1,000 or 0.2% 

Entertainment & Rec. Services 8,000 or 1.5% 

Health Services excl. Hospitals 1,000 or 0.1% 

I Educational Services 7,0000 or 1.3% 

~ Other Professional Services 41,000 or 7.7% 

I Public Administration ;4,000 or 0.8% 

occupations. Of these 65.6 percent worked in business services industries; 29.3 

percent in miscellaneous service industries; 4.1 percent in construction; 2.1 percent 

in amusement and recreation services; 1.6 percent in motion pictures and 

0.6 percent in museums, botanical and zoological parks. 

In the broad category called Non-Manufacturing Industries in 1988 there were 

244,020 decorators and designers made up of 140,770 designers (excluding interior 

designers), 43,580 interior designers and 59,670 merchandise displayers and window 

trimmers representing 0.5 percent of total employment in industries reporting these 

occupations. Of these 43.9 percent were in retail trade; 11.7 percent in wholesale 

trade; 3.4 percent in electric, gas and sanitary services and 0.2 percent in 

communications. 

In the broad category called Manufacturing Industries in 1989 there were 

39,890 made up of designers (excluding interior designers), representing 0.5 percent 

of total employment of the industries reporting these occupations. Of these 15.2 

percent were in apparel and other textile products; 12.7 percent in printing and 

publishing; 12.1 percent in transportation equipment; 10.8 percent in industrial 

machinery and equipment; 10.3 percent in miscellaneous industries and fewer than 

10 percent in all other reporting industries. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 137 

Establishments 

The Census of Service Industries offers insight into the establishments providing 

graphic arts services. Two types of businesses provide these services: commercial art 

and graphic design firms and graphic design firms. For purposes of this analysis, no 

further reference will be made to commercial art and graphic design firms. 

In 1987 there were 7,202 graphic design establishments with receipts of $3.2 

billion. The Northeast accounted for 30 percent of establishments and 34.3 percent 

of receipts; the South for 23 percent of establishments and 17.5 percent of receipts’ 

the Midwest for 22.3 percent of establishments and 25.5 percent of receipts and the 

West for 24.6 percent of establishments and 22.7 percent of receipts. 

With respect to type of practice, billings and employees, the Industrial Design 

Society of America reported that in 1989 of responding groups 56.6 percent were 

consulting groups accounting for 52.3 percent of design employees; 39.6 percent 

were corporate design groups accounting for 45.6 percent of design employees and 

3.8 percent were other types of groups accounting for 2.2 percent of design 

employees (Exhibit 14). 

Exhibit 14
 

Percentage Distribution of Industrial Design Society of
 

America Groups by Practice, Billings & Desgin Employees
 

1989
 

Other 

9 or 3.8% (41 Employees) Consulting Groups 

133 or 56.6% 

(985 Employees) 

225 Reporting
 

Groups
 

(1,885 Employees) 

Corporate Group!
 

93 or 396%
 

(859 Employees) 

Practice 

$0-$249000 

114or320% 

More $1,000,000 (114 Employees) 

67 or 285% 

(1,175 Employees) 

225 Reporting
 

Groups
 

( ,885 Emp oyees) 

$500,000-$999,999 $250,000-$499,999 54 or 23.0% 60 or 255% (351 Employees) (245 Employees) Billings 

Groups reporting billings up to $249,999 a year accounted for 23 percent of all 

reporting groups and 6.1 percent of design employees; groups with billings between 

$250,000 and $499,999 accounted for 25.5 percent of groups and 13 percent of 

employees; groups with billings between $500,000 to $999,999 accounted for 23.0 
138 I Artists in the Work Force 

percent of groups and 18.6 percent of employees; Groups with billings of more than 

$1 million accounted for 28.5 percent of all groups and 62.3 percent of design 

employees. 

The American Institute of Graphic Art reported that in 1987 free-lancers were 7 

percent of its members; 21 percent were self-employed; 28 percent were owners or 

partners of firms; 44 percent were employees and 1 percent were unemployed. 

In 1987 of reporting AIGA members 46 percent were employed in a design 

firm; 28 percent in a non-design firm; 13 percent in educational institutions; 8 

percent in a publishing house; 5 percent in non-profit institutions; 2 percent in 

governmental institutions and 2 percent in other types of organizations. 

Income 

Data concerning the income of decorators and designers is available from the 

Census of Population for 1980 and 1990 and from the two representative associations. 

In 1990 decorators and designers working full-time and earning $7,500 or less 

accounted for 5.4 percent of all decorators and designers; those earning $7,500 to 

$14,999 in the year before the Census, 14.4 percent; between $15,000 and $24,999, 

25 percent; between $25,000 and $34,999, 22.3percent; between $35,000 and 

$49,999, 19.4 percent; between $50,000 and $69,999, 8.6 percent; between 

$70,000 and $99,999, 3.1 percent and those earning more than $100,000, 1.9 

percent. (Exhibit 15) 

The median income for full-time earnings of male decorators and designers was 

$32,549 and for females, $20,394, or 62.7 percent of what their male counterparts 

earned. 

Decorators and designers living in households with an annual income under 

$15,000 in 1989 accounted for 7.8 percent of all decorators and designers; those 

earning between $15,000 and $24,999, 11.2 percent; between $25,000 to $34,999, 

14.8 percent; between $35,000 and $49,999, 21.7 percent, between $50,000 and 

$64,999, 17.1 percent; between $65,000 and 94,999, 16.2 percent; between $95,000 

and $124,999, 5.6 percent and those earning more than $125,000, 5.5 percent. 

The median income for male decorators and designers was $47,688 and for 

females, $44,308. Median income for females was 92.9 percent of males. The median 

household income with a working decorator or designer, either a male or female, was 

$45,873. 

Median household income of all decorators and designers was 113 percent of the 

experienced civilian labor force; 88.2 percent of professional specialty workers and 

103 percent of all artists. 

Conclusion 

A summary of findings concerning architecture and design occupations between 

1970 and 1990 appears in the Executive Summary at the beginning of this NEA 

report on artists and will not be repeated here. Rather, this section will briefly treat 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 139 

Exhibit 15
 

Percentage Distribution of Census Combined Decorators &
 

Designers by Full-time Earnings in Year before Census
 

1980 & 1990
 

$100,000 or more $70,000-99,999 2,193 or 1.1% 

$50,000-69,999

16,260 or 8,1% 

4’312 °r21% 1 ~/ Under $7,5000 

10,867 or 54% 

$35,000-49,999

36,177 or 18% 

$7,500-$14,999 

32,193 or16.0% 

$25,000-34,999 

48.302 or 26.3% ~.~$15,000-24,999 

1980 50,736 or25.2% 

$70,000-99,999 $100,000 or more 11,091 or 31%~ ~-"~ 6,780 or 1.9% 

$7,500 

$50,000-69,999 19,413 or 5,4%

31,108 or 8,6% 

$35,000-49,999 $7,5000-14,999

70,196 or194% 52,035 or 14.4% 

$15,000-24,999

90,522 or 25.0% 

$25,000-34,999 

80.595 or 223% 1990 

four aspects of professionalization and competition which affect the employment and 

earnings in architecture and design professions. 

Professionalization and Competition 

Since the Industrial Revolution, the engineer has been at the vanguard of 

integrating scientific knowledge into the physical structures, instruments and utensils 

of daily life. With the ascendancy of science, the engineer has displaced the architect 

as the "master builder." It is rumored that fewer than 10 percent of all construction 

projects in the U.S. engage architects, with the remaining 90 percent reputedly in the 

hands of engineers. To some developers architects are too concerned with aesthetics 

and not enough with function, cost and efficiency. 

If architects are considered "soft" compared to engineers, then designers are 

considered "soft" by architects. Thus while all states and the District of Columbia 

require formal licensing of architects, only the District licenses and only 14 states 

regulate use of the term "interior designer." Tension between the two professions was 

evident in 1990 with passage of the LaValleoKoppell Bill in New York. The bill 
140 I Artists in the Work Force 

resulted from an agreement between the architectural profession and interior 

designers on the scope of designers’ work. In essence the bill: established a legal 

definition of interior design; established a category of "certified interior designers" 

and set minimum standards for education, training and testing; distinguished 

interior decorators from interior designers and defined the type of interior 

construction designers can perform as "not materially related to or materially 

affecting the building systems." 

Competition and growing demand for interior design has resulted in many 

architecture firms forming interior design departments. 

Design Deficit 

With respect to architecture, the U.S. is doing well on world markets. In 1989 

there were 200 "design" firms competing for international contracts worth $7.4 

billion. Design firms are those that develop plans for construction projects, as 

opposed to construction companies. Without differentiating between engineering 

and architectural firms, the U.S. accounted for 67 (33.5 percent) of competing firms 

and $3.2 billion (43.5 percent) of international design work. 

With respect to design of consumer products, the situation is quite different, 

with European imports traditionally dominating the top end of the line in the U.S. 

Consider the trade balance. In 1982 total U.S. exports were $252 billion, or 0.8 

percent of GNP. Arts-related exports were $12 billion, or 5 percent of total exports. 

In 1982 imports amounted to $306 billion, or almost 10 percent of GNP. Arts 

imports were $37 billion, or 12 percent of all imports. Thus the U.S. had a trade 

deficit with the rest of the world of $ 55 billion, or 1.7 percent of GNP. The arts trade 

deficit was $25 billion, or 45 percent of the total trade deficit. 

Growth in the number of decorators and designers during the 1980s suggests 

that an effort is being made to fill this trade gap. Good design adds value to products 

and makes them more competitive in the domestic and export market. 

Design Rights 

It has been estimated that the U.S. lost more than $13.5 billion to copyright 

pirates around the world in 1986 (Hoffman 1989). Unfortunately, there is no 

estimate of loss due to design piracy. 

While European countries and Japan have long provided design protection, the 

U.S. offers a design patent that requires not just that a design be different and 

distinctive, but that it be new, useful and not "obvious" to others skilled in the trade. 

Product designers consider their work as creative and original as that of painters, 

sculptors and writers who enjoy copyright protection. Designers, however, too often 

must watch their work being copied by others with little fear of being sued under 

existing law (Andrews 1990). To the degree product design protection increases the 

value of design, then to that degree the employment and earnings of designers will 

increase and their status in corporate hierarchies would rise. 
Architecture and Design Arts Occupations, 1970 to 1990 I 141 

Aesthetic Utopians 

Frank Lloyd Wright, like members of the German Expressionist Movement, the 

Bauhaus and the "International Style," believed that architecture and design could 

change the human condition. 

"It was one of those illusions of the 20s," recalls Philip Johnson. "We were 

thoroughly of the opinion that if you had good architecture the lives of people would 

be improved...and people (would) improve architecture...This did not prove to be the 

case." (Hughes 1981:164) 

For more than a half century, the International Style of rectangular glass boxes 

dominated construction in downtown America. Aesthetic utopians wanted buildings 

and objects to approach an aesthetic ideal of perfection while developers and 

manufacturers wanted to produce at the lowest possible price, thus fueling the 

dominance of the style. But in the 1980s architects and designers began to reject this 

mainstream of modern architecture and design. Not just the formal harmonies and 

proportions of Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Courbusier were rejected, but also 

their social and ethical ideals. Functionalism, however, was not rejected. 

This stylistic rejection became known as "Postmodernism." It is characterized by 

an eclecticism of styles and reversion to pre-modern architecture before the 

International Style 

Without a dominant style, the public is confused while the architecture and 

design professions search for a new guiding light. A new style fuels the employment 

and earnings of architects and designers. Perhaps Wright’s dream of a distinctive 

American style will result from this contemporary Postmodern confusion. 

Forecasts 

Employment opportunities for architects, landscape architects and designers are 

projected to rise faster than the average for the labor force as a whole through the year 

2005. Most job openings, however, will result from people transferring to other fields 

or leaving the profession. 

Demand for architects and landscape architects depends on local construction 

which, in turn, is sensitive to the economic cycle. Furthermore, architects must meet 

licensing requirements in each state before they can practice there, which limits 

mobility. As well, competition for the most prestigious firms will continue. 

Computer-aided design and drafting is becoming more prevalent, but is not 

expected to reduce demand for architects. Rather, it should allow more options to be 

developed and changes in plans made more easily, hopefully improving the quality of 

design. 

Landscape architects will no doubt find construction growing in the long term, 

but mainly outside the major cities. Typically such sites have large surroundings 

requiring more landscape designing than urban sites. And as the cost of land 

increases, good landscape design will become more desirable. 

Increased development of recreation spaces, wildlife refuges and parks will also 

require landscape architects, as will growing concern about the environment and 
142 I Artists in the Work Force 

historical preservation. Also, local, city and regional planning is requiring increased 

mixed land reclamation and refurbishing of existing sites. 

Designers should also continue to be in demand. Continued competition and 

emphasis on product quality and safety, on design of new business and office 

products, on high-tech products in medicine and transportation will also stimulate 

demand for industrial designers. 

To the professional statisticians of the Federal government, the staff of 

representative organizations and the Research Division of the NEA, whose long term 

efforts provided the evidence presented in this report, many thanks and 

encouragement are offered. In a society in which "If you’re not counted, you don’t 

count!" their on-going efforts aid and assist materially in making the case for the arts 

before the court of public opinion. 

About the Author 

Harry Hillman Chartrand received his M.A. in Economics (1974) from Carleton 

University in Ottawa prior to operating his own consultancy, FUTURES. Clients 

included the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities, TrioLevel Task 

Force on Public Finance, Bureau of Intellectual Properties and Secretary of State, 

Canada Council. From 1981 to 1989, he served as Research Director for the Canada 

Council. From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Chartrand served as Chief Economist of Kultural 

Econometrics International. In July he returned to private practice in Saskatoon and 

now serves as Administrator for the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance. He has written 

extensively concerning cultural economics. 

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