DCMS sector Economic Estimates: Productivity 2024 (provisional)
Official Statistics in development providing measures of labour productivity in DCMS sectors.
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About
These official statistics in development provide estimates of the productivity of DCMS sectors for 2019 to 2023, and provisionally for 2024, measured by gross value added (GVA) per hour worked, and per job.
While output per hour is generally the preferred measure of labour productivity because it has the advantage of accounting for different working patterns, we are also publishing output per job, including a time series for the first time. Also published for the first time here are UK level estimates for tourism and civil society, and regional estimates for 2023 for DCMS sectors (excluding tourism and civil society due to lack of suitable data.)
These estimates should not be directly compared to the previously published ones, as the data used to produce the older estimates has since been substantially revised.
Content
DCMS sectors
These statistics cover productivity in the following DCMS sectors:
- creative industries
- cultural sector
- gambling
- sport
- tourism
- civil society
Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.
A definition for each sector is available in the tables published alongside this release. Further information on all these sectors is available in the associated technical report above along with details of methods and data limitations.
Headline findings:
In 2024:
- Output per hour in DCMS sectors was £34, compared to £47 for the UK as a whole. Output per job in DCMS sectors was £55,000, compared to £75,000 for the UK as a whole. This means that for DCMS sectors compared to the UK average, more hours of work/jobs are needed to generate the same amount of GVA.
- Between 2023 and 2024, we provisionally estimate that output per hour in included DCMS sectors fell by around 1.5% compared to a fall in output per hour for the overall UK economy of around 1.0%. Annual output per job decreased by 0.9% in DCMS sectors, while annual outcome per job for the UK economy overall remained the same.
- Compared to 2019, included DCMS sector output per hour was estimated to be 2.2% higher, similar to the 2.5% increase for the UK as a whole. DCMS sector annual output per job fell by 1.6% from 2019 to 2024, while annual output per job for the UK economy as a whole increased by 2.0%.
- DCMS sector productivity estimates vary by sector and subsector.
The following information is worth noting:
- Estimates for 2024 are provisional and subject to change when the National Accounts are published later in 2026.
- Regional estimates are only available for 2023, and do not account for revisions to GVA in the Blue Book 2025. These estimates will be revised and updated with a time series from 2019 to 2024 when more data becomes available. Until updated estimates become available, we advise not to make time series comparisons for the regions, as these may be misleading.
- GVA is a standard measure of labour output, and has the advantages of comparability and availability of data, but will produce apparently lower values of productivity for parts of DCMS sectors (e.g. museums, libraries) where goods and services are often provided free at the points of consumption and have wider cultural and societal benefits (which may also include indirect effects on UK GVA).
- These estimates use the ONS datasets output per hour worked and output per job which are classified as official statistics in development because the estimates are based on the Labour Force Survey which has been impacted by falling sample sizes. The estimates also use ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates of hours worked, which has also been impacted by falling sample sizes. As a result, the accreditation of ONS statistics based on the APS was temporarily suspended on 9 October 2024 and these statistics are considered official statistics in development until further review. This means there is greater uncertainty in DCMS sector estimates.
Released
First published on 25 June 2026.
Official statistics in development: Call for Feedback
These statistics are labelled as official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are undergoing development and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. These productivity estimates are designed to complement our other economic estimates and to give a deeper understanding of the economic performance of DCMS sectors to the UK economy. They are being published as official statistics in development because:
- they include updated methodology for productivity (productivity by region, productivity for civil society and tourism sectors, output per job)
- the methodology is still in development, including exploring the possibility of aligning more closely with ONS methods
- they use data based on the Labour Force Survey, which has suffered a drop in response rates, and a corresponding increase in uncertainty. The ONS has removed accreditation from products using LFS data while the issue is resolved.
- we will be seeking user feedback on the usefulness of the statistics, the suitability of the methodology used and how clearly the statistics are communicated, including explanations about quality.
We expect to make further methodological improvements and implement changes to the DCMS productivity estimates after seeking user feedback. These changes will be made by the next annual productivity release, expected in 2027. At this point we will make an assessment about whether the statistics still remain in development or if the label can be removed.
We welcome feedback on these statistics. We particularly welcome views on:
- the methodology and data sources used
- the presentation of these measures and explanations about the quality of the data
- suggestions for how these statistics could be further improved
- how you are using the estimates
For feedback on productivity estimates for DCMS sectors, please contact evidence@dcms.gov.uk by 25 September 2026.
Office for Statistics Regulation
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing evidence@dcms.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
The responsible analyst for this release is Rachel Moyce. For further details about the estimates, or to be added to a distribution list for future updates, please email us at evidence@dcms.gov.uk.
Pre-release access
A document is provided that contains a list of ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.