The U.S. television and film industry has become a bigger employer than commodities and energy, according to an analysis by the Motion Picture Association of America.
The production and distribution of TV shows and movies directly employ more people in 34 states than the combined total from the mining, oil and natural gas industries, it said.
The trade group’s report illustrates how broadly the U.S. entertainment industry has grown beyond the known creative enclaves of Los Angeles and New York. Jobs in television and film directly generated $76 billion in wages, with salaries that are 47 percent higher than the national average, the group said. The analysis of 2017 U.S. economic data was partly delayed by the government shutdown earlier this year, and included jobs linked to pay television for the first time, the MPAA said.
The entertainment industry has spread across the U.S., beyond southern California where the warm, sunny climate drew filmmakers to build the first production companies at the turn of the 20th century. Other states — including Georgia, Louisiana and Illinois — have used subsidies to draw production away from California to create their own thriving hubs.
