Rio de Janeiro lost over 25,000 jobs in creative industries in 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In recent months, several initiatives in the creative industries have been affected by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, mainly through the temporary – or even permanent – suspension of events and cultural spaces. In Rio, the decline in the sector in the first quarter of 2021 was 4% compared to the same period in 2020.

The Itaú Cultural Observatory survey shows that in Rio de Janeiro there were 25,697 fewer jobs in total. From the last quarter of 2020 to this year, the decrease was 1%. Despite this negative scenario, there are still 612,583 professionals employed in this sector in Rio.

The decrease goes hand in hand with the figures observed in the country, which also registered a decrease of 4% last year. Across Brazil, around 244,000 jobs were lost.

The largest loss was seen in specialized cultural workers – professionals in cinema, music, photography, performing and visual arts, radio and television, museums, crafts, and others – with a decrease of 27% compared to the beginning of 2020.

Other specialized creative segments such as advertising, information technology, design, and fashion had a 12% increase over the same period, balancing the index.