The number of creative artists in Switzerland has decreased.
Keystone-SDA
Around 282,000 people were employed in the cultural sector in Switzerland in 2025, 4.8% fewer than in the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Friday.
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The FSO said the decline in the number of professionals in the culture sector is comparable to that during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020. The decrease was greatest among male workers, Swiss nationals and in French-speaking Switzerland.
The FSO uses a broad definition for the concept of culture using the data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey. In addition to musicians and visual artists, the cultural economy also includes accountants in museums and graphic designers.
Unhappy with financial situation
According to the FSO report, people employed in the cultural sector were less satisfied with their income and living conditions in 2024 than the average in Switzerland.
While a fifth of the working population said they were not very satisfied or not satisfied at all, this figure was over a quarter for professionals in the cultural sector.
The FSO will publish detailed data on income on June 25.
Translated from German by AI/sb
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