Covid pandemic 'catastrophic' for arts and culture, says report

The arts, culture and heritage sectors suffered "catastrophically" during the pandemic, a study has found.

The report, by the University of Sheffield, revealed the industry suffered a 60% decline in output because of restrictions.

It said about 55% of jobs - 450,000 people - were furloughed in the sector, second only to hospitality, and well above the national average of 16%.

It also found that South Yorkshire was one of the most affected areas.

Professor Vanessa Toulmin, director of city and culture and chair in early film and popular entertainment at the University of Sheffield, said: "This landmark report reveals how social distancing and lockdowns over the past 18 months have had a catastrophic effect on the finances of people who work in the sector, as well as businesses and venues.

"People have lost their jobs, businesses and venues have closed and this economic impact has severely affected the mental health and wellbeing of people who work in the sector across the UK."

The university's study focused on the impact in South Yorkshire but put it in the context of the wider national picture.

It found that the pandemic had the greatest effect on the mental health of freelancers, with 76.5% reporting a worsening in their mental well being.

Event crew, lighting and sound engineers reported greater worsening of mental health than respondents in other roles, with 53.8% saying that their mental health was "much worse" compared to 25.5% on average.

Cinema, performing arts, museums and historical sites were worst-hit, while others, including computer games, software, book publishing, TV broadcasting and libraries, were less badly affected.

The report authors said the findings that South Yorkshire was among the hardest hit was because it had highest share of jobs in the hardest hit sub-sectors of arts, culture and heritage.

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