Performing arts jobs in steep national decline

While we’ve talked about new job opportunities for Minnesota artists in recent weeks, nationwide employment numbers for dancers, actors and other performing artists have tanked.

Mike Mandel is a Senior Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit Washington think tank. He took a look at a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report and plotted the following chart:

The numbers show that over the past year employment at performing arts companies has dropped a whopping 16%. According to Mandel, that means performing arts employment is now at the lowest level since 1990.