The creative sector makes up around 3% of the Cornish economy and have an average salary of just under £25000 per annum. Dominated by freelancers and small businesses the community is growing fast, but is the money aspect growing too?
We want to know the struggles the creatives of Cornwall face as they live off the low wages given to them. It is said to be a struggle to live on £24000 or less a year.
As a nation we already face the cost-of-living crisis, especially represented by the rise in house prices over the past year. In Cornwall, the average house price rose by 15.3%, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. Which is an increase of £40,488 ; from £265,481 to £305,969 or the equivalent of £111 a day.
The Pixel, Penzance
This graph shows how much a person would need to earn a year to live comfortably within the UK.
When looking into jobs within the creative sector, it is clear that there are less high paid opportunities. After the opening of Pixel in Penzance, it was expected that more jobs would appear. However, this has not been the case as two jobs have been advertised. The main job of host community manager, which consists of being in charge of admin, events management, social media promotion and more, pays £24,000 per annum. This, as shown above, suggests the candidate will struggle to live with the wage which averages to about £12 an hour. This is not the only example of low income with in the sector, but some do show that a higher income can be obtained over years of work.
We want to know how people are surviving. Is it through second jobs? Renting? Or moving out of Cornwall to find better job prospects? If you want to make your voice heard, message The Mouth on instagram @themouthnews.