New York risks losing many of its most creative residents if the city doesn’t address the high cost of real estate, a study released yesterday found.

The report by the Center for an Urban Future, a New York-based think tank, considered trends relating to a wide variety of fields in the city’s “creative core.” The sector comprises 8% of the workforce in areas including the fine and performing arts, design, publishing, and advertising. Though the city remains a world leader with more than 300,000 creative workers in nearly 11,700 businesses, the study found New York lagging behind London in areas such as access to workspace and affordable housing. As an example, the report said the city now houses less than a third of the world’s advertising agencies, whereas it used to account for half.

The study praised Mayor Bloomberg’s policies relating to the creative fields, but advised the administration to follow London’s lead in creating a central body to address the creative sector’s needs. It also recommended that the mayor do more to address affordable housing issues, saying prohibitive costs are a chief cause of creative workers leaving the city.