A report commissioned by the City of San Diego and the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center has underscored the importance of creative industries to the local economy and made recommendations to addressing persistent issues, such as the high cost of living.
The PIC report was intended in part to assess the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the creative sector, which had been in decline for years before 2020, and to offer recommendations for ways to better support the industries in the region.
Acccording to the report, creative businesses combined add nearly $11 billion to the local economy and 3.7% to the gross regional product, which is the market value of all goods and services produced in a region.
Of the thirteen industry groups surveyed, digital media was the largest contributer to the local economy overall, and the printing and publishing sector suffered the most losses.
Self-employment figured prominently in the creative sector. The largest group of self-employed creative workers surveyed were writers and authors, followed by fine artists.
The high cost of living and working in San Diego were at the top of the list of workers’ concerns, closely followed by lack of stable employment — a large number of people said that they had a mix of different part-time jobs and gigs.
The report also noted that a lack of representation persists throughout industries, particularly in management and employer positions, although diversity has improved in recent years.
Despite the challenges, workers in creative industries want to stay there. “Although concerns were raised about the financial difficulty of being a creative in San Diego, over half of respondents are not looking to leave their profession,” the report noted. “This highlights the fact that our respondents are generally satisfied with their jobs.”
Its recommendations include offering more funding opportunities and better incentives for small businesses and the self-employed, encouraging more professional collaboration and a sense of community, and reviewing existing regulations in order to foster the creative economy, which in turn will benefit the entire region.
