Toronto - It comes as no surprise that urban centres attract lots of attention from researchers and policy-makers interested in creative jobs and creative industries. The numbers tell us that these are the locations where they’re concentrated and where they have the best prospects for future growth. But the potential of smaller centres and rural areas should not be overlooked.

Why does the creative economy matter to rural regions? There are two main reasons. First, a high proportion of creative class jobs – high-autonomy occupations where workers are paid to think like managers, scientists and designers – has been shown to be strongly related to higher wages and economic growth. Second, creativity is important to all industries. While some members of the creative class work in creative industries like web design or music, most work in more traditional industries like manufacturing or agriculture, adding value through creative problem solving and innovation.

A new report by Millier Dickinson Blais, AuthentiCity, Dr. Greg Spencer and the Martin Prosperity Institute details the successes and challenges of a region aiming to grow its creative economy. As the chart below shows, job growth in rural Ontario in the decade between 1996 and 2006 was led by far by creative class workers at 22% – ahead of the working class at 13%, the service class at 9% and the agricultural and resource class, where the number of jobs actually fell by 20%.