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Creativity should be a part of any successful enterprise. North Carolina’s economic progress depends on it.

A study by the N.C. Department of Commerce released last week puts the value of the state’s “creative economy” at more than $41 billion annually. It attributes nearly 300,000 jobs to “creative enterprise industries.”

Those are impressive numbers, and they propel strong assertions, such as:

-- “The presence of creative professionals in a given county is the single most important factor associated with the amount that visitors will spend.”

-- “The presence of creative workers is also strongly associated with rising household incomes.”

-- “Counties with higher proportions of workers in arts-related occupations are more likely to retain current residents and attract new ones.”

-- “The creative work force provides a competitive edge to North Carolina products and services.”

The “creative work force” covers much more ground than the arts, although the economic contributions of arts organizations have been documented in other studies. It includes product designers — for example, the people who can make High Point the creative capital of the furniture industry or those at HondaJet who can fashion a hot new entry in the aviation market. Success in a fast-changing global economy requires innovation. North Carolina must support industries that create new products or find ways to improve existing ones. Gov. Bev Perdue’s newly appointed Innovation Council is a step in that direction.

Making strides in education is part of the equation, too. North Carolina’s  state university and community college systems are in the forefront of that effort, but K-12 schools still aren’t doing their part in feeding them well-prepared students. That must change.

While it’s impossible to overstate the importance of creativity in achieving economic success, it is possible to exaggerate the strength of our creative industries. This report may do that. While it claims creative industries account for 5.5 percent of North Carolina employment and nearly 5.9 percent of the market value of goods and services, almost overlooked is the statistic that this output results in only 4.9 percent of employee compensation. Are our most creative workers paid below-average wages? Surely, more value should be placed on their jobs.

One problem is the overly broad classification of creative employment categories, which include newspaper publishing, florists, selling books and jewelry and photo-finishing. Any definition is bound to raise arguments — creativity is subjective — and there are creative professionals in all occupations, but the state shouldn’t give itself more credit than it’s due. The creator is the person who writes the book, not the one who sells it — although books can be offered for sale in inviting, attractive, well-designed spaces.

There are people who generate value on the strength of their ideas. North Carolina must attract and nurture a lot more of them.