Press release No. 145 of 22 April 2020
WIESBADEN – In 2018, 495,000 people worked on a self-employed or freelance basis in the cultural sector. Based on microcensus data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the total of people in a cultural occupation amounted to roughly 1.3 million. They accounted for 3.1% of all persons in employment in Germany. Currently, self-employed workers are especially affected by the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Concerts, theatre, cinema and cultural events like, for instance, town festivals and fairs, have been cancelled, and museums are closed. As a result, many self-employed cultural professionals are faced with significant losses of income at the moment. 39% of all cultural workers are self-employed. This share is markedly higher than the total of self-employed people in all persons in employment (10%).
