Cultural employment across the EU stood at 8.9 million people in 2025, 4.3% of total employment, on Eurostat data extracted in June 2026. Of those, 31.6% were self-employed, 23.4% worked part time and 16.5% were on temporary contracts, while 61.9% held a tertiary qualification. The Netherlands carries the highest share of any member state at 5.7%.