Official Statistics

DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates: Creative Occupations Update Note

Published 16 July 2026

Summary

In this DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates Employment 2025 publication, we are publishing updated employment (number of filled jobs) estimates for creative occupations and the creative economy, which consists of the creative industries plus creative occupations in non-creative industries. These estimates were previously published as part of the DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates: Employment series using the list of creative occupations defined using the previous iteration of the classification, SOC 2010. 

To produce these estimates, we have updated the list of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes which are classed as creative occupations, based on SOC 2020 codes. This list has been produced based on recommendations provided by an independent panel of academics and industry body experts, following a review of existing and new SOC codes. 

The creative occupations list is also used to define the creative industries. As set out in a 2013 paper published by Nesta, the creative industries are determined on the basis of creative intensity (the proportion of occupations in an industry that are creative). Once data becomes available using UK SIC 2026, we will update our creative industries definition and the creative occupations list will be used as a starting point for this update. 

The updated list of creative occupations using SOC 2020 and estimates for creative occupations and the creative economy for 2021 to 2025 are published in the data tables alongside this release. These estimates are not directly comparable to those published previously for 2020 and earlier time periods. The estimates are classified as official statistics in development. 

Method

In 2020, the ONS published an update to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) framework (SOC 2020). This followed a review which revised the classification of occupations to reflect changes within the economy and the labour market since the previous iteration of the classification (SOC 2010). These revisions involved adding new occupation codes, removing, splitting or merging existing codes, as well as updating code descriptions and titles. 

Following these revisions, DCMS has updated the list of creative occupations based on SOC 2020. In 2022, as part of the DCMS Sector Economic Estimates: Workforce 2021 release, we published and sought user feedback on an initial list of updated creative occupations SOC 2020 codes. These were developed with the assistance of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and other researchers in the field. After this publication, work on finalising the creative occupations list was paused while the ONS resolved an issue with the way the underlying Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) data had been assigned to the refreshed SOC2020 codes.  

To finalise the list of creative occupations codes using SOC 2020, DCMS considered the feedback received following the publication of the initial list, including proposals for SOC 2020 codes that should be defined as a creative occupation. DCMS established an independent panel of academics and industry body experts to review both existing and newly proposed occupation codes. As part of this process, the panel:

1. Considered the list of SOC codes suggested for review and recommended any additional codes to add to the review.
2. Conducted independent assessments of the SOC codes being considered. To do this, the panel utilised a scoring framework to assess these occupation codes against five established criteria, as developed in Nesta’s Dynamic Mapping of the UK’s Creative Industries. 
3. Discussed the outcomes of the assessments as part of moderation discussions.
4. Produced a final set of recommendations for which SOC 2020 codes should be classified as creative occupations. 

DCMS has accepted the recommendations of the panel to produce an updated list of creative occupations using SOC 2020. The updated creative occupations list is similar to the initial list of creative occupations previously published in the DCMS Sector Economic Estimates: Workforce 2021 publication with two exceptions:

1) SOC 5434 ‘Chefs’ has been added. This occupation scored highly against the assessment criteria for being creative and the panel recommended including this code in the list of creative occupations. A separate occupation code, 5435 ‘Cooks’ covers less creative, more standard and routine culinary tasks and is not included in the list of creative occupations. 

2) SOC 5312 ‘Stonemasons and related trades’ has been removed. This occupation was included as a new SOC code in the initial occupation list published in the Workforce 2021 publication, however it scored weakly against the assessment criteria for being creative and the panel recommended not to include this code in the list of creative occupations. 

The full updated list of creative occupations using SOC 2020 is published alongside this release. 

Call for Feedback

We are seeking feedback on the updated set of creative occupations SOC codes and how well they represent the set of occupations that are creative. Please provide any feedback to evidence@dcms.gov.uk by 16 October 2026. 

Once the feedback window has closed, we will consider the feedback received and confirm the creative occupations SOC 2020 codes that we will use in future publications. At this point the related methodology documents will be updated.