The authors conclude that these findings suggest that the U.S. economy is undergoing structural change: “This shift is characterized by high — and growing — unemployment in working class occupations, whereas the relative position of creative workers improved in the years following the recession.”
Empirical study of “creative class” occupational group described by Richard Florida.
Key findings: being in the creative class decreases you likelihood of being out of work in a recession, metropolitan areas with a larger creative class have lower unemployment than ones without a large creative class.
Creatives share an ethos that values individuality, creativity, diversity, and merit. Metropolitan areas that attract creatives are places that are “tolerant, diverse, and open to creativity.”
Barbara K Iverson 