They were probably thrilled to find work

They were probably asked an open ended question. Artist is likely the most common answer given due to the simple fact that more people can think of that job compared to PR manager when asked

Plot twist: Graph was mad with AI

Project Manager was #1 but they told the artist it didn't fit the scope.

Telemarketer should've been number 1.

Art is important for people's well being, which is important for essential workers' ability to work. Weird thst artists are considered less essential than telemarketers.

You can tell this is a poll of what people perceive to be the important jobs because doctor is #1. The most important jobs by sector in order of importance for developed nations is

1. power supply- we all need electricity and few of us have the ability to generate it ourselves

2. water supply- getting enough clean water for your day to cook and wash is a near full time job. For Americans a gallon of water is roughly 8lbs and your average toilet uses 3-5 gallons per flush. It would take much of the day to get and purify the water you use

3. sanitation workers- this the poll got right. The folks collecting waste do more directly for public health than most doctors could hope to do.

non-essential jobs is about everyone with a MBA

Always remember, music is also art. Now imagine a world where theres no music. You can't listen to anything while driving, riding the bus, going shopping etc.

I used to think this was true while working for a B2B company as a graphic designer. Everything just seemed pointless like I wasn't contributing anything meaningful to the world. But I do think that art in its many forms contributes meaningfully to culture in general and can also be quite powerful when used well. History of graphic design shows just how influential designs were in Nazi Germany and how similar techniques are still used today. Then there is the matter of UI design and how it's increasingly become essential today. While most applications it's fine to have a frustrating piece of garbage, UI is rather important for things like medical systems, car displays, and other areas where getting it wrong could mean life or death. Unfortunately my job is still pretty useless to society regardless of these points made. I'll go back to my corner now.

Without art, what's the meaning?

Guessing this might be non-essential workers as per covid lockdowns, ie how important it is for them to attend a workplace in person, but it's definitely funnier if it is a ranked list of perceived importance to society, so let's go with that

A quick image search returned this

https://mothership.sg/2020/06/milieu-survey-sunday-times-essential/

So many commenters are missing crucial context to this infographic.

This was released during peak covid and I mean PEAK as in June 2020, global lockdowns, high mortality rates, shortages of essentials. In case anyone has a short memory, the world as we knew it practically ground to a halt.

Not to take away anything from artists but essential in this context meant essential to the basic human needs. Health, Nutrition, Sanitation.

But what about telephone sanitisers, account executives, hairdressers, tired TV producers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, public relations executives, and management consultants?

I know they meant painter but graphic designer is probably one of the most important jobs if we’re talking about business. A company without some sort of graphic is dead in the water.

the 23% of people who didn't vote for garbage collector... Are they hoarders?

Sorry, why is cleaner #2 in the list?

Farmers, Engineers, Police/Fire/Ambulance, Teachers, etc...

If you think artists are non-essential, try teaching a technophobic boomer to renew their driver license through a terminal command.

Add health insurance CEO to the top of the non-essential jobs list.

Artist? I think the job was passed off to the first person passing the bosses desk.

Good thing we’re getting rid of those immigrants. That should free up loads of artist, telemarketer, social media manager, and PR specialist jobs.

Hey, cleaners are second most important, they must be paid super well, right?

... Right?

My sister is a graphic designer and makes good money.

That's about right.

I want to beat the shit out of everyone who thinks artist is a 'non-essential' job. And then make a drawing decipting it.