- LA has seen a steep decline in its share of TV and film work compared to the rest of the US.
- The decline comes as labor costs have risen and other settlements have sweetened their incentives.
- Industry advocates are working to increase California’s benefits to attract more film and television shoots.
Los Angeles is losing ground as the center of the filmed-entertainment universe.
In recent years, the area has lost some television and film jobs as countries like Canada and states like Georgia have become production hubs.
L.A.’s share of U.S. film and television jobs fell to 22% in August from about 33% two years earlier, an analysis of new Bureau of Labor Statistics figures by Patrick Adler and Taner Osman of Westwood Economics & Planning Associates. They also conducted research for an Otis College report from May on the creative economy, Die Another Day.
Los Angeles is losing TV and film jobs to the rest of the US. Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Employees, Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries. Bureau of Labor Statistics via Patrick Adler and Taner Osman on behalf of Otis College.
The news is not good for New York either.
The #2 entertainment job market in the US (after LA) also saw its share of work in film and television. The rest of the country, meanwhile, rose to 69% from 54% two years ago, the analysis found.
Total U.S. television and film employment was broadly flat over the same period at about 447,000, except for a 10% drop during the writers’ and actors’ strikes, which largely shut down script production for much of the year 2023.
“There’s really an increase in the rest,” Adler said. “You really didn’t see that in the jobs data until shortly after the strikes. That’s where things really started to pick up.”
There are several theories about the change, and surprisingly, they end up being money.
Here are two:
- Producers are working with smaller budgets for plays and films as labor costs have risen as a result of new union contracts, prompting filmmakers to leave LA for other locations in the US (as well as overseas) where costs are lower and the financial benefits are better.
- The cost of living in LA may push people to find jobs in states where jobs are more plentiful, thanks to generous film incentives in states such as Georgia or new ones recently passed by states including Arizona and Kentucky.
Industry advocates are trying to boost California’s benefits to lure more film and TV shoots, acknowledging the difficulty of competing with incentives offered elsewhere.
FilmLA suggested that California’s film incentive program could be improved, saying a quarter of TV drama shooting days in the third quarter were on projects supported by the incentive.
“Film promotion in California is a proven job creator that studies show provides a positive net return for every dollar allocated,” said FilmLA President Paul Audley. “What the program lacks is funding and eligibility criteria that reflect industry performance in 2024.”
However, the entertainment industry in LA is not just Hollywood. The city also has a rich base of other entertainment sectors, such as gaming and social media creation. Gaming, for example, was included in an employment category in Otis’ May study — “software publishing” — that grew 149% from 2013 to 2024.
And there is no single city that is on the verge of eclipsing LA’s TV and film production. But if the trend away from LA continues, as it has in recent months, it could mean Hollywood won’t be synonymous with TV and movies forever.