Philippine creative economy took a hit in 2024 – PSA

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ creative economy posted its slowest growth in three years in 2024 after high inflation and elevated interest rates squeezed household and corporate budgets, therefore crimping spending on creative products.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the size of the creative economy, in peso terms, had expanded by 8.7 percent last year to P1.94 trillion.

Excluding the pandemic-induced contraction in 2020, the latest reading was the weakest pace of expansion since 2021—back when the creative economy had grown by 7.1 percent after the world slowly reopened from lockdowns.

At its current size, creative industries cornered 7.3 percent of the country’s P26.44-trillion gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024. That share to total GDP was unchanged from 2023, figures showed.

READ: Philippine creative economy nears P2-trillion mark

But the overall growth of the creative economy—which was said to include audio and audiovisual media, digital interactive goods and services, advertising, music, arts and traditional cultural expressions, among others—nevertheless translated to more jobs.

Employment in that economy had risen by 3.9 percent in 2024 to 7.51 million, accounting for 15.4 percent of total employed persons in the country, the PSA reported.

Discretionary

John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at state-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said high inflation and tight financial conditions might have strained household and business spending on creative products that may be deemed as non-essential or discretionary.

“The growth in the Philippine creative economy reflects a postpandemic normalization as the sector transitions from a strong recovery phase to a more steady-state expansion,” Rivera said.

“The softer performance across several subsectors likely stems from weaker consumer and corporate spending amid high inflation and tighter budgets, especially in areas like advertising, events and digital services, which are sensitive to economic cycles,” he added.

Dissecting the PSA’s report, the growth of digital interactive goods and service activities had eased to 9.7 percent in 2024 from 11.6 percent before, one of the biggest slowdowns among the creative industries.

There was also some weakness in the advertising industry, which had expanded at a slower pace of 10 percent from 12.8 percent previously.

Art galleries, museums, ballrooms, conventions and trade shows had registered a weaker growth of 11.4 percent compared to the 14.2 percent expansion in the preceding year.

‘Saturation’ effect

“The marked slowdown in digital interactive goods could also be attributed to saturation effects following the pandemic boom in online content and services, while art galleries and events-related activities may have faced lingering constraints in audience spending, sponsorships, or venue availability,” PIDS’ Rivera said.

Moving forward, Rivera said the midterm elections could provide a short-term boost to the creative economy via heightened spending on advertising, events, digital content and design services.

READ: Jobs ‘master plan’ to focus on creatives

But the PIDS economist said more work must be done to sustain a strong growth.

“Sustaining growth beyond 2025 will require investments in digital infrastructure, creative skills development and stronger intellectual property protections to attract both domestic and international demand,” Rivera said.