What might the total estimated economic impact of COVID-19 be on self-employed Canadian artists in 2020? A very quick paper napkin calculation (not statistically valid) based on Hill Strategies and I Lost My Gig Canada survey results thus far.
$2.07 BILLION INCOME (0.12% of Canada’s GDP)
estimated lost or at-risk income in 2020 (82,200 self-employed artists in Canada x $25,200 average income)
2.96 MILLION GIGS
estimated lost or at-risk gigs in 2020 (82,200 self-employed artists in Canada x 36 average gigs)
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- 158,100 artists in Canada, source Hill Strategies
- 52% of artists are self-employed, source Hill Strategies
- 82,200 artists are self-employed (52% of 158,100)
- 36 average number of lost or at-risk gigs in 2020, source I Lost My Gig Canada COVID-19 Impact Survey at May 27, 2020 (n=796)
- $25,200 average lost or at-risk income in 2020, source I Lost My Gig Canada COVID-19 Impact Survey at May 27, 2020 (n=796)
- $1.741 trillion Canada’s GDP in 2019 estimated
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Problems with this calcuation:
Does not take into account the economic variances between regions and disciplines. The majority of respondents to the I Lost My Gig Canada survey are from the live/performing arts and as such is not a representative sample of the whole Canadian arts and culture industry.
