Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in New England have grown significantly since 2002 and constitute a steady, reliable industry that is less susceptible to the cyclical ups and downs of the economy than other industries, a report from the New England Foundation for the Arts finds. According to New England's Creative Economy: Nonprofit Sector Impact (51 pages, PDF), the region's more than 18,000 arts and cultural groups spent nearly $3.7 billion and employed more than 53,000 people in 2009, up 24 percent and 28 percent from 2002 levels. The report also found that between 2007 and 2009, the number of arts organizations in the region grew by 1.1 percent, while spending increased 11.5 percent, even as assets declined 6.9 percent. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the state arts agencies of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report notes that the sector's direct spending generates an additional $2.2 billion in indirect impact and $2.5 million in spending by arts nonprofits' and vendors' employees.