United States Artists commissioned Joanna Woronkowicz, PhD, to conduct a brief study on the occupational identifications of artists and to make research-based recommendations for improving how the federal Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system classifies and reports on artist occupations.

Why Does This Matter?

More accurate data collection of artist occupations can establish better data reflecting various important aspects of the workforce, such as demographics, pay, benefits, and the total number of artists in the United States. This information is crucial for establishing the impact of artist occupations on the economy and for providing data comparable with those of other professions. The data enable us to describe the artist population in the US, track changes over time, and ultimately make better-informed arguments for support.

Submit Recommendations 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is inviting recommendations for changes to the SOC. This is a rare opportunity to share recommendations for changes to federal data and how it classifies artists' occupations! We encourage you to share your comments, before the deadline on August 12, 2024, using the link below.

For further information, we direct you to two files available for download: the full report, Classifying Artists in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System (attachment 1), and a spreadsheet mapping out the specific recommended changes using the BLS template (attachment 2).

The period for submitting comments has now closed.