While California leads the nation in creative jobs, according to a new report from Westchester’s Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles trails New York as the city with most jobs in the sector.
The 2017 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California, released Thursday, said California’s 747,600 workers in the creative industries give California the largest number of creative workers in any state. New York is next with 478,100, followed by Texas (230,600), Florida (175,000), and Illinois (171,000).
However, the positions are reversed when comparing total numbers for the metro areas of Los Angeles and New York City, the report said. The report said, however that Los Angeles had a greater share of the creative workers relative to total employment, 8.3 percent compared to 6.4 percent. Los Angeles and New York were followed by the Bay Area, Chicago, and Seattle.
In California, the Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles and Orange counties, had a much higher concentration of creative workers compared to the state’s other major metro areas.
Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, and economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., which prepared the report for Otis, said that even though Los Angeles was below New York, the concentration of creative workers is greater relative to total employment, “I would argue that this might be the more important statistic, or metric.”
Employment categories surveyed include architecture and design, art galleries, communications arts, digital media, entertainment, fashion, furniture and decorative arts, industrial design services, publishing and printing, toys, visual and performing arts providers, and fine and performing arts schools.
Ritter-Martinez cited the fashion and toy industries among L.A.’s significant performers. She said the toy business is directly related to the entertainment industry, since many toys are licensed from movies and TV.
She added that Los Angeles’ tech industry differs from the Bay Area’s due to its link with the entertainment industry.
“That’s why technology companies are moving here from the Bay Area, because of the talent we have in creating content,” she said.
Contact media and entertainment reporter Diane Haithman at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @dhaithman for the latest in L.A. business news.
