Equity survey shows precarity of creative workforce

A survey of over 2,100 Equity members – who work as performers and creative practitioners, such as actors, comedians, dancers, designers, directors, stage management, and more – reveals the extent of the creative workforce’s precarity:

• Nearly half (48%) of respondents reported that their average annual income from performance-related work was under £10,000.
• Only 1 in 4 (25%) feel confident about meeting the cost of living from their work in the creative industries, with 62% having to work outside of the industry to pay bills.  
• Only a quarter (26%) are very confident that they will be working in the creative industries in three years’ time.  
• 30% of respondents have had to relocate to London or the southeast in order to take a job in the creative industries. 

In other areas of the survey: 

• Only 13% felt that employers in the industry were doing enough to prevent sexual harassment.
• A whopping 91% support the introduction of personality rights to tackle artificial intelligence (AI) exploitation, with only 13% of those who have had their voice or likeness digitally captured feeling confident the digital capture will be used in places and ways they will be informed of and are happy with. 

Commenting on the survey results, Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said: 

“The results of this survey are stark. Our findings show a precarious workforce, with a majority having to supplement their earnings from the creative industries with work elsewhere in order to pay the bills. While the industry has a reputation for glamour, the reality is often galling. Barriers for working class, global majority and disabled creatives are rife. 
 
“Equity’s industrial response is radically shifting pay and work-life balance across theatre, TV, and film – as well as holding engagers of entertainers, audio artists, and others to account through the courts and growing unionisation. The anger detailed in this survey is driving this robust response; we can clearly contrast the bleak picture for those seeking diminishing work opportunities especially in areas outside of union agreements, and those working on contracts underpinned by Equity’s negotiations. 
 
“On sexual harassment and dignity at work, many industry leaders need a wake-up call. New legal protections from the Employment Rights Act make this a clear duty on employers, and Equity wants to see much more urgency in this area through union negotiated processes embedded in agreements and contracts. More producer-funded, confused ‘standards authorities’ and ‘best practice’ guidance are an inadequate response, which have not inspired confidence in our members. The misery-industrial complex where high paid consultants opine on how to fix dignity at work issues is failing, and contrasts with the serious efforts made in collective processes by PACT, SOLT, and UK Theatre in negotiation with Equity. 
 
“The government’s positive overtones on introducing personality rights are clearly welcomed by members – both as a statutory safeguard, and a foundation for collective bargaining to better new provisions and create enforceable industry standards. It’s time for the government to move at speed on their introduction.”

More on the survey results 

Only a quarter of respondents expressed confidence about being able to meet the cost of living from their work in the creative industries over the next 12 months. Whilst Equity’s pay deals are consistently above inflation, work opportunities are on the decline: almost half of respondents (44%) say they have to work at least once a week outside of the industry in order to meet the cost of living, with 62% having to work outside the industry at some point to pay bills. Other areas of work are wide-ranging, but many Equity members also work as teachers, front of house, in hospitality or video production/tech roles, with jobs varying as widely as gardening, tour guides, admin and scuba diving. Only 38% of respondents don’t need to work outside of the creative industries in order to meet the cost of living. 
  
Equity members commented on how gruelling it is to work multiple jobs – often at the same time as fulfilling caring duties.  

Only about a quarter (26%) of respondents were very confident that they will be working in the creative industries in three years’ time. Many people feel torn between passion for their craft and the reality of stagnating wages and soaring costs.  

Several people reported that it was their pension that enabled them to keep working in the creative industries. As one member expressed it: “Now I have my state pension I can afford to work.”  
  
For the vast majority of the creative workforce, the pay is meagre. Nearly half (48%) of respondents reported that their average annual income from performance-related work was under £10,000. The next largest cohort was £10,001 to £20,000, at 21%. By contrast, in 2025 median gross annual earnings for full-time employees was £39,039 in the UK (ONS Employee earnings 2025). 

In addition to general questions about work and the cost of living, the survey also covered some specific issues. One of these was sexual harassment in the industry. Only 13% of respondents felt that employers in the industry were doing enough to prevent sexual harassment. With new, stronger legal duties now introduced for employers to “take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment”, Equity is negotiating enforceable provisions across the industry covered by collective agreements, taking in the majority of work in film, theatre, and TV. But growing areas like TV commercials and video games, as well as freelance entertainment like comedy and drag, are outside these protections These are areas which producer-funded industry campaigns often do not include. 
 
The survey also inquired about the Spotlight casting platform: 72% of respondents who use Spotlight did not report being satisfied with its services (20.2% said they were ‘very unsatisfied’, 24% ‘unsatisfied’, 28% ‘neutral/unsure’ – compared to 22% saying they were ‘somewhat satisfied’ and only 5.6% saying they were ‘very satisfied’). With Equity’s appeal hearing seeking to establish that Spotlight needs to be more transparent about upfront charges, and that those charges are limited by law, it’s clear that the union’s members back Spotlight being more accountable. 
  
Finally, we asked about personality rights. Equity is calling on the government to introduce a new system of automatic rights over performers’ voice, face and body. These personality rights would allow everyone to have control over their identity in the age of AI. 91% of respondents said that they would be in favour of this new layer of protection against exploitation by AI models.  
 
This is the first large-scale survey of Equity members in many years. The survey was sent out via email to every member, with several reminders, and included single and multiple-choice answers along with open text boxes for both qualitative and quantitative results. The survey ran between 11 May and 29 June 2026, with 2,102 responses.