The U.K.’s creative industries were worth $117 billion to the local economy in 2013, a record high, buoyed by a surge in film and TV.
According to figures released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Tuesday, the figure rose 9.9 percent on 2012’s figures, with the industry growing three times faster than the wider U.K. economy.
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Overall, the industry accounted for 1.71 million jobs, or 5.6 percent of all of the U.K. jobs in 2013. Of these figures, jobs in film, TV, video, radio and photography grew by 11.8 percent to 259,000.
“The U.K.’s creative industries are recognized as world leaders around the globe and today’s figures show that they continue to grow from strength to strength,” said U.K. culture secretary Sajid Javid in a statement.
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Caroline Norbury, the chief executive of Creative England, which supports the creative industries through a variety of initiatives, added: “These figures show unequivocally that the U.K.’s creative industries are growing faster than any other major industrial sector.”
The film industry is expecting to add a further boost to the 2014 figures, thank to major productions such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens — and several other Disney titles — shooting at Pinewood Studios, while the return of James Bond in Spectre should help hoist 2015’s figures.
