Number employed by European comedian likely to bring in a profit (8)
I believe the answer is:
economic
'likely to bring in a profit' is the definition.
(economic can mean profitable)
'number employed by european comedian' is the wordplay.
'number' becomes 'no' (abbreviation).
'employed by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters used or employed inside).
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'comedian' becomes 'comic' (synonyms).
'e'+'comic'='ecomic'
'no' going within 'ecomic' is 'ECONOMIC'.
(Other definitions for economic that I've seen before include "Fiscal" , "Inexpensive" , "Capable of operating at a profit" , "Sparing with resources or money" , "One comic (anag)" .)