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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:
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.
Data series | Back data |
Jun. 2024 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
2,660.0 | 2,663.5 | (p)2,674.5 | (p)2,676.5 | |
2,523.4 | 2,580.2 | (p)2,507.4 | |||
Unemployment |
|||||
3.4% | 2.7% | 4.1% | 5.6% | ||
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands) |
|||||
94 | 151 | (p)134 | |||
224 | 148 | (p)124 | |||
106 | 139 | (p)232 | |||
Footnotes |
(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)
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)
Data series | Employment, 2023 |
---|---|
24,820 | |
267,620 | |
189,260 | |
11,040 | |
23,620 |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)
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)
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.
Data series | Back data |
May 2024 |
Jun. 2024 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
$28.12 | $27.11 | $26.78 | (p)$26.98 | ||
23.1 | 24.3 | 24.5 | (p)24.1 | ||
Footnotes |
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Data series | Back data |
May 2024 |
Jun. 2024 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
$23.15 | $22.33 | $22.06 | (p)$22.29 | ||
22.2 | 23.2 | 23.5 | (p)23.0 | ||
Footnotes |
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Data series | Back data |
Median weekly earnings | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
Union membership and representation |
|||||
$849 | $824 | $886 | $934 | ||
$850 | $904 | $808 | $1,073 | ||
$892 | $864 | $844 | $1,053 | ||
$845 | $818 | $889 | $926 |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Data series | Wages, 2023 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hourly | Annual | |||
Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
$21.68 | $41.66 | (1)-$ | (1)-$ | |
$13.93 | $14.30 | $28,980 | $29,740 | |
$22.85 | $25.22 | $47,530 | $52,460 | |
$28.15 | $27.87 | $58,560 | $57,960 | |
$41.36 | $53.49 | (1)-$ | (1)-$ | |
Footnotes |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)
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 |
||||
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 |
|
4.2 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
2.4 |
1.4 | |
1.0 | |
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
This section presents data on the number of establishments in arts, entertainment, and recreation.
Data series | Back data |
2nd quarter 2023 |
3rd quarter 2023 |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
179,490 | 181,448 | 184,030 | (p)186,798 | ||
3,940 | 3,941 | 3,938 | (p)3,933 | ||
930 | 939 | 942 | (p)940 | ||
1,051 | 1,054 | 1,051 | (p)1,049 | ||
Footnotes |
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
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 |
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.5 | -11.7 | 9.3 | 7.9 | ||
3.6 | -34.0 | 33.3 | 22.4 | ||
3.1 | -25.3 | 22.0 | 13.4 | ||
2.8 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | ||
-0.1 | -24.8 | 15.8 | 15.5 | ||
4.3 | -10.8 | 14.0 | 6.8 |
(Source: Productivity)
Data extracted on: October 11, 2024