Defining the photo imaging industry
The total Photo Imaging workforce comprises around 43,100 people. 51% of these are based in the south of England, with the largest proportion - some 38% - in London and the South East. The rest of the workforce is spread throughout Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the remaining regions of England, with the highest concentrations in the South West (13%) and the East of England (12%).
The Photo Imaging industry is made up of 8,700 companies, two thirds (68%) of which are sole trading or freelance photographers.
The remaining companies can be broadly divided into the following categories:
- Image producers (including laboratories and minilabs)
- Photo retail
- Picture libraries and agencies
- Manufacturers
- Support services (e.g. equipment hire and repair)
Across the industry as a whole, 91% of companies employ five people or fewer.
Labour Market Intelligence Digest
Skillset's industry endorsed research programme provides authoritative Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) for the Creative Media Industries throughout the UK.
This LMI informs how we allocate our funding and underpins the development of skills solutions as well as our strategies and Sector Profiles. The latest data available are summarised and published in a series of Sector LMI Digests - you can download the one for the Photo Imaging sector here:
Photo Imaging Labour Market Intelligence Digest (2011)
For more information on our research work, please visit: Skillset's Research pages.
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