The Creative Industries in Monmouth County include 2,083 nonprofit and for-profit businesses, employing 5,803 employees—comprising 4.7% of all businesses and1.9% of the people they employ, according to the Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts in Monmouth County, NJ report. The findings are based on an analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data, the most comprehensive and trusted source for business information in the United States. The study was conducted by Americans for the Arts—the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education—and includes analyses of 11,000 unique political and geographic regions in the U.S. The data are current as of January 2014.
The analysis demonstrates a larger-than-expected prevalence of arts business establishments, while the mapping analysis shows that these businesses are broadly distributed and thriving throughout Monmouth County and not, as is sometimes believed, strictly in the downtown areas.
"The Creative Industries in Monmouth County are a significant driver of the local economy and critical to creating communities where people want to live and work. From major performing arts centers and small community based arts groups to artist entrepreneurs and creative businesses Monmouth County are an important and growing sector of the economy," says Monmouth Arts Executive Director, Mary Eileen Fouratt
Arts Industry Resilient
Nationwide, the Creative Industries reports reveal that arts businesses are formidable: 750,453 businesses involved in the creation or distribution of the arts employ 3.1 million people. This represents 4.2 percent of all U.S. businesses and 2.1 percent of all U.S. employees, respectively. One of the remarkable national findings from the research, which dates back to 2004, is that arts businesses and employment have maintained this share of businesses and employment during the nation's up and down economic cycles—demonstrating that the Creative Industries are as resilient and durable as other sectors of the economy.
"The Creative Industries reports are powerful tools for understanding what a major force arts and culture businesses are for the economy—not only nationally, but also locally, in every community across our country," says Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. "These reports should be in every legislator's office and every city hall, reminding community leaders that the arts are key drivers of the local economy, new employers, jobs, and improvement of the quality of life through their work. The Creative Industries say one thing loud and clear: the arts mean business!"
Importance of Arts Education
Arts education is a critical tool for fueling Monmouth County's 2,080 arts-centric businesses with the creative workers they need to thrive as well as helping develop new arts consumers who will engage with these businesses on a variety of levels, from attending local arts events to purchasing goods from arts supply stores or taking music lessons. According to U.S. employers surveyed for Ready to Innovate, a collaborative report between the Conference Board and Americans for the Arts, "Creativity" has risen to among the top applied skills sought by business leaders—with study of the arts emerging as a leading indicator of employee creativity. Teaching our children how to think creatively is vital to preparing them to be successful in the 21st century workforce.
Tom Gilmour, Director of Economic Development, Asbury Park, says, "This study backs up what many of us have been pushing for years. The City of Asbury Park utilized the arts to help turn around the city and jump-started redevelopment, attracted new business and in-turn created significant new jobs. It also provided the sustainability to get through the recent recession and Superstorm Sandy."
The Creative Industries reports are created by Americans for the Arts using Dun & Bradstreet business data. Downloadable reports for the nation's 435 federal legislative districts, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 3,144 counties, and 7,400 state legislative districts, along with national comparative reports, can be freely downloaded at www.AmericansForTheArts.org/CreativeIndustries.
Monmouth Arts is a 501(c) 3 organization and the leader of the Monmouth County arts community that includes 100 nonprofit arts groups, 1,200 artists and 2008 creative businesses. Monmouth Arts supports artists and arts groups through networking, workshops and resources; the Monmouth Teen Arts Festival bringing 2,000 student artists together with professional artists; the Local Arts Grant Program for small arts groups; the MoCo Arts Corridor Partnership, a creative placemaking initiative; community arts planning; and by publicizing the wide range of arts performances and exhibitions in Get Out Get Art eblasts, social media and on www.monmoutharts.org.
Monmouth Arts' programs and the groups we support serve over 700,000 people each year and bring over 3,000 arts events to Monmouth County. Monmouth Arts is made up of artists, audience members, businesses and arts and community organizations with a focus on theatre, visual arts, music, film, storytelling, writing and dance. Programs of Monmouth Arts are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts
