Employment in the entertainment industry in the Los Angeles Basin grew 19.6 percent from 2006 to 2016, outpacing 4 percent growth across all industries in the area over the 10-year period, a new report says.
The report, released Feb. 9 by the Center for a Competitive Workforce, attributes much of that growth to a substantial increase in the category that includes promoters, agents and managers, which added more than 36,000 jobs over the decade.
The growth includes both new agencies as well existing talent and management firms that have added new departments devoted to e-sports, YouTube and other social media platforms that have facilitated the growth of social media stars.
The report also said employment in industries with digital media increased 12 percent, including significant overlap with traditional media and entertainment companies.
The breakdown: entertainment (up 7 percent), digital media industries (up 15 percent), professional business services related employment (down 8 percent), distribution related jobs (up 82 percent) and non-internet related publishing (down 6 percent).
The Center for a Competitive Workforce is studying six target industries expected to undergo significant middle-skill job growth between 2016 and 2021. The report said the center chose the entertainment industry for its first deep-dive study because of the concentration of jobs in the area, with particular emphasis on the disruption to traditional entertainment and media due to rising digital platforms such as Netflix Inc., Hulu and Amazon Inc.
The Center for a Competitive Workforce, a regional Strong Workforce Project, is a partnership including the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation; 19 Los Angeles region community colleges in the in the L.A./O.C. Regional Consortium; Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research at Mt. San Antonio College.
One of the consortium’s goals is to use the data to support industry-driven career education and workforce development programs.
Media and entertainment reporter Diane Haithman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @dhaithman.
