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Industries at a Glance
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Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries: NAICS 512
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About the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries subsector
The motion picture and sound recording industries subsector is part of the information sector.
Industries in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries subsector group establishments involved in the production and distribution of motion pictures and sound recordings. While producers and distributors of motion pictures and sound recordings issue works for sale as traditional publishers do, the processes are sufficiently different to warrant placing establishments engaged in these activities in a separate subsector. Production is typically a complex process that involves several distinct types of establishments that are engaged in activities, such as contracting with performers, creating the film or sound content, and providing technical postproduction services. Film distribution is often to exhibitors, such as theaters and broadcasters, rather than through the wholesale and retail distribution chain. When the product is in a mass-produced form, NAICS treats production and distribution as the major economic activity as it does in the Publishing Industries subsector, rather than as a subsidiary activity to the manufacture of such products.
North American Industry Classification System
The motion picture and sound recording industries subsector consists of these industry groups:
- Motion Picture and Video Industries: NAICS 5121
- Sound Recording Industries: NAICS 5122
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in motion picture and sound recording industries. 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, union membership and representation, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.
Employment and Unemployment
| Data series | Back data |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
Nov. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
447.5 | 445.0 | (p)443.0 | (p)444.9 |
|
|
374.2 | 350.9 | (p)352.1 | ||
Unemployment |
|||||
|
|
12.5% | 7.4% | 4.5% | 7.2% | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population 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) |
|
14.0% | 17.3% | 17.3% | 12.1% |
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
15.1% | 18.3% | 17.8% | 12.5% |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Employment by Occupation
| Data series | Employment, 2023 |
|---|---|
| 15,810 | |
| 10,210 | |
| 6,780 | |
| 2,110 | |
| 53,040 |
(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 motion picture and sound recording industries.
(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 motion picture and sound recording industries.
Earnings and Hours of All Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$36.92 | $38.97 | $40.53 | (p)$42.78 | |
|
|
28.3 | 27.9 | 27.7 | (p)26.0 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$26.57 | $27.99 | $29.21 | (p)$30.97 | |
|
|
24.6 | 24.2 | 23.8 | (p)22.0 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Union Membership and Representation
| Data series | Back data |
Median weekly earnings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
Union membership and representation |
|||||
|
|
$1,149 | $1,325 | $1,388 | $1,334 | |
|
|
-$ | $1,884 | $2,276 | -$ | |
|
|
-$ | $1,885 | $2,277 | -$ | |
|
|
$1,053 | $1,230 | $1,300 | $1,252 | |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series | Wages, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Annual | |||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| 16.44 | 48.15 | (1)- | (1)- | |
| 27.65 | 34.22 | 57,510 | 71,180 | |
| 13.07 | 13.35 | 27,180 | 27,770 | |
| 15.44 | 19.58 | 32,100 | 40,730 | |
| 49.01 | 62.19 | 101,930 | 129,360 | |
|
Footnotes |
||||
(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 motion picture and sound recording industries. 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 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fatalities |
||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
|
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
||||
| Data series | 2023 |
|---|---|
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers |
|
| 1.7 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
0.6 |
| 0.4 | |
| 0.2 | |
|
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 motion picture and sound recording industries.
Establishments
| Data series | Back data |
3rd quarter 2023 |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
2nd quarter 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
|
|
40,533 | 41,016 | (p)41,385 | (p)41,618 | |
|
|
5 | 5 | (p)7 | (p)7 | |
|
|
|||||
|
|
7 | 6 | (p)6 | (p)6 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Productivity
This section presents productivity and related data for the industry, presented as the percent change from the previous year. Measures of total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.
| Data series | Back data |
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
2.0 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 4.2 | |
|
|
-9.8 | 13.7 | 12.2 | 6.5 | |
|
|
-11.5 | 8.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 | |
|
|
0.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.6 | |
|
|
-32.1 | 33.2 | 5.5 | -12.6 | |
|
|
36.1 | -15.2 | 5.7 | 21.2 |
(Source: Productivity)
Data extracted on: December 13, 2024