Picture this: a decade of employment in the motion picture and video industries

From February 2016 through February 2026, employment in the motion picture and video industries reel-y put on a show. After contending with the pandemic, the resulting reduction in film releases, and multiple worker strikes, employment in the industry ended the decade lower than where it started.

Motion picture and video production shed 49,000 jobs over the 10-year stretch, a decline of 21 percent, while motion picture and video exhibition (mostly movie theaters) cut 25,000 jobs over the decade, a decline of 17 percent. Employment in both industries was essentially flat for several years until the pandemic-related drops in April 2020.

The production industry recovered all 109,000 pandemic-related jobs losses then reached a high of 289,000 in October 2022. Since 2023, multiple strikes contributed to a downward trend that has persisted into early 2026. Recent employment levels have been about 100,000 lower than the industry's October 2022 high.

The exhibition industry has yet to fully recover all 123,000 pandemic-related jobs lost, but since July 2022 employment has remained relatively stable, despite the decline in movie and video production employment.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. CES data are presented in The Employment Situation news release. Also see more charts of national employment, hours, and earnings data.