Latvia/ 4.2 Specific policy issues and recent debates  

4.2.9 Employment policies for the cultural sector

There is no comprehensive data available concerning those working in the cultural sector. Different sources indicate different numbers of employed persons in the field of culture.

Table 3:     Number of employees in arts, entertainment and recreation (NACE Rev. 2) 2008-2013

Source:  the Central Statistics Bureau of Republic of Latvia, 2014.

Table 4:     Creative industries statistical characteristics: number of employed, 2008-2011

Source:     Report "The Performance of the Creative Industries Sector of Latvia and Preconditions for its Targeted Development", Association of persons Baltijas Konsultacijas Ltd and Konsorts Ltd, 2013.

The data show that during the last four years the number of employees in creative industries dropped by 25% (-12 287 employees) and in related industries – 29% (-12 394 employees). The fall in the total number employed in the creative industries was considerably larger than in Latvia as a whole (respectively -25% and 14%).

Eurostat (Cultural Statistics, 2011) reports that in 2009, in Europe, employment in the cultural sectors on average represented 1.7% of total employment, while in Latvia it represented 2.3% of total employment. In 2009, there were 22 400 persons employed in the cultural sector in Latvia.

Table 5:     Occupied posts by kind of economic activity on average per year, 2013

Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, 2014.

The study on the Status of Creative Persons in Latvia in 2012 (Latvian Academy of Culture, 2013) indicate that 18% of the respondents are self-employed, while 25% are employed illegally (61% say that the reason for not paying taxes not enough remuneration).

The government approved its willingness to increase salaries in the cultural sector by signing the Memorandum (2005) that guaranteed an increase in the average salary in state cultural institutions until 2010. In 2009, due to the economic crisis, salaries in public administration decreased by 11%, while in the public cultural sector they decreased by 35% if compared to 2008. In 2011, the average salary in public administration was 492 LVL (703 EUR) and in the public cultural sector – 327 LVL (467 EUR). In 2012, the average salary in public administration increased up to 514 LVL (734 EUR), while in the public cultural sector salaries rose to 345 LVL (493 EUR).

Figure 1:    Average monthly salary of employees in the public cultural sector, in LVL, 2005-2012

Source:     Central Statistical Bureau of Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Culture, 2013.

Other conditions have also aggravated the situation of employees in the cultural sector. Remuneration for public lending to copyright owners is calculated as a certain share from the amount that libraries have spent on buying new books in the previous year. In 2009, this share was decreased from 10% to 5% but in 2013, the rate of 10% was restored.

The remuneration has significantly decreased (the funding from the Ministry of Culture in 2009 decreased by 70% in comparison to the previous year), while the number of authors receiving remuneration for public lending has increased from 1207 in 2006 to 1602 in 2010.

Figure 2:    Funding paid by the Ministry of Culture to the Latvian authors' society AKKA / LAA as remuneration to copyright owners for public lending, in LVL, 2006-2012

Source: Ministry of Culture, Latvian authors' society AKKA / LAA, 2013.

The budget of the Culture Capital Foundation has decreased in 2010 by 72% compared to 2008 (see chapter 2.1); this leaves an impact on incomes of individual artists and cultural operators who may benefit from different scholarship schemes and project grants.

This has led to the situation that in Latvia there is a high rate of people employed in the cultural sector with more than one job. Eurostat (2011) suggests that in 2009, Latvia had the second highest rate in Europe with nearly 15% of employees in the cultural sector having more than one job.

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