"Culture plays an important role in the daily life of the EU citizens": this is one of the conclusions drawn by the researchers of Eurostat, the European Commission’s Statistics Office, after adding and processing the figures of culture and culture-related economic activities, from tourism to the management of the artistic heritage. The first factor they highlighted concerns employment: "Nearly five million people work in culture" (as of late 2005), "which means 2.4% of the total manpower of the 27 member states". But national differences are remarkable, ranging from 3.8% in Holland to 3.3% in Sweden and Finland, where the employment level is highest, down to the lows of Romania (1.1%), Portugal (1.4) and Poland (1.7). Eurostat found: "People who work in culture usually have a higher level of education than those who work in other economic fields", with high rates of holders of diplomas, degrees and postgraduate degrees. After all, the share "of temporary or short-term workers is higher than in the other fields" (up to 16% on an average of 13). (continued)
