Recent Release | 17 Jun 2020
The Projected Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the U.K. Creative Industries

Economic Consulting Team
Oxford Economics

This report explores the short-term effects of Covid-19 on the financial sustainability of the creative industries in the UK.

Along with the tourism sector, Creative Industries (CIs) are among the most affected by the current Covid-19 crisis. Creative workers, one of the more vulnerable sectors of the workforce, are already seeing devastating impacts on their income, not only in turnover terms, but also in their charitable contributions and sponsorship. Leaving behind the more fragile part of the sector could cause irreparable socio-economic damage.
We find that the Creative Industries are projecting a combined £77bn turnover loss over the course of 2020 compared to 2019 (-31%). This is expected to translate into a GVA shortfall of £29bn in 2020 compared to 2019 (-26%), over half of which is in London.
In 2020, CIs are projecting a 122,000 drop in employment among employees (despite the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – JRS) and a further 287,000 job losses among self employed workers, compared to 2019 levels. In total, 409,000 CIs jobs are considered at risk, 27% of which are in London and 20% are in the South East.
About the team
Our economic consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. The lead consultants on this project were:

Osman Ismail
Associate Director
+44 (0) 20 3910 8076

Private: Osman Ismail
Associate Director
London

Alice Gambarin
Senior Economist
+1 646 503 3054

Private: Alice Gambarin
Senior Economist
New York
Related Services

Post
Delivering Value: The Economic Impact of the Civil Nuclear Industry
The study suggests the civil nuclear industry supports a £16.1 billion contribution to UK GDP, 211,500 jobs, and £7.1 billion in tax revenues. 24% occurs in the North West and 16% in the South West.
Find Out More
Post
Innovation Index: Are You Prepared to Shift from Survival to Growth?
Oxford Economics and NTT Data fielded a survey of 1,000 North American business and IT executives in 2022 to uncover future strategies to mitigate disruption.
Find Out More
Post
Reinventing for growth in a changing media landscape
Oxford Economics partnered with Accenture to survey 6,000 consumers around the world about their media and entertainment habits, experiences, and preferences.
Find Out More