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Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: NAICS 71

About the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector

The arts, entertainment, and recreation sector is part of the leisure and hospitality supersector.

The Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector includes a wide range of establishments that operate facilities or provide services to meet varied cultural, entertainment, and recreational interests of their patrons. This sector comprises (1) establishments that are involved in producing, promoting, or participating in live performances, events, or exhibits intended for public viewing; (2) establishments that preserve and exhibit objects and sites of historical, cultural, or educational interest; and (3) establishments that operate facilities or provide services that enable patrons to participate in recreational activities or pursue amusement, hobby, and leisure-time interests.

Some establishments that provide cultural, entertainment, or recreational facilities and services are classified in other sectors.

North American Industry Classification System

The arts, entertainment, and recreation sector consists of these subsectors:

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in arts, entertainment, and recreation. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series Back
data
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

2,577.8 2,599.7 (p)2,621.0 (p)2,634.3

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

2,037.9 2,049.4 (p)1,986.8  

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

5.1% 5.5% 7.4% 9.1%

Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

Job openings

128 106 (p)133  

Hires

102 122 (p)122  

Separations

158 160 (p)133  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data
2020 2021 2022 2023

Union membership and representation

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

4.8% 4.8% 6.3% 6.2%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

5.9% 5.5% 7.6% 7.5%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2022

Actors

12,710

Amusement and recreation attendants

239,880

Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors

170,070

Gaming supervisors

9,600

Musicians and singers

18,520

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for arts, entertainment, and recreation.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in arts, entertainment, and recreation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$27.46 $27.81 $28.15 (p)$28.41

Average weekly hours

24.0 23.4 23.5 (p)23.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$22.74 $23.17 $23.31 (p)$23.36

Average weekly hours

22.4 22.0 22.1 (p)21.8

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data
Median weekly earnings
2020 2021 2022 2023

Union membership and representation

Full-time workers

$849 $824 $886 $934

Members of unions

$850 $904 $808 $1,073

Represented by unions

$892 $864 $844 $1,053

Nonunion

$845 $818 $889 $926

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2022
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Actors

$17.94 $25.83 (1)-$ (1)-$

Amusement and recreation attendants

$13.20 $13.42 $27,460 $27,920

Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors

$22.48 $24.42 $46,750 $50,790

Gaming supervisors

$24.56 $25.53 $51,080 $53,100

Musicians and singers

$44.95 $54.63 (1)-$ (1)-$

Footnotes
(1) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in arts, entertainment, and recreation. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series 2019 2020 2021 2022

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

90 70 73 97

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Data series 2022

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

Total recordable cases

4.2

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

2.4

Cases involving days away from work

1.4

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.0

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in arts, entertainment, and recreation.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2022
1st quarter
2023
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023

Number of establishments

Private industry

177,453 (p)178,094 (p)179,895 (p)181,717

Local government

3,946 (p)3,948 (p)3,943 (p)3,944

State government

922 (p)938 (p)932 (p)945

Federal government

1,038 (p)1,041 (p)1,054 (p)1,057

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: March 15, 2024