Fine Arts Schools NAICS 611610

May 15, 2025 - Consumer Confidence Decreases

• Consumer confidence, as measured by The Conference Board, decreased for the fifth consecutive month in April as consumers expressed concern about tariffs’ negative effects on prices and the economy. Consumer confidence is an indicator of demand for fine arts instruction. Confidence decreased across all age groups, most income groups, and all political affiliations. “The three expectation components — business conditions, employment prospects and future income — all deteriorated sharply, reflecting pervasive pessimism about the future,” Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard said.
• President Trump signed an executive order requiring all agencies to review grants and contracts for wasteful spending, fraud, and abuse. Contributions, gifts, and grants account for about 30% of revenue for nonprofit institutions including fine arts schools. The order also directed agency leaders to build a payment and contract recording system alongside employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Teams of DOGE personnel have been assigned to each agency to develop the system, which will be used to review and justify all expenditures made by employees.

• Adults who created art and/or attended arts events within the previous month were more likely than those who did not to participate in social groups like church groups, unions, fraternal or athletic groups, according to research conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts. About 46% of arts creators reported not belonging to a social group while about 57% of non-creators—reported not belonging to a social group.
• Fine art school industry employment increased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fine arts school sales are forecast to increase at a 1.33% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.