Entertainment industry jobs grew in 2024, but are down significantly over the past 5 years

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Topline:

Total nonfarm jobs in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro area increased by 0.9% in the 12 months ending December 2024. That's compared with an increase of 1.4% in the nation as a whole and an increase of 1% in the state of California, new data show.

Visual aide:

This report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics accurate as of Feb. 5. The latest month of data available in the current release is December 2024.

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American Public Media Research Lab

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Other key findings: In the L.A. area, jobs in the film and music industries gained 3,300 jobs in 2024. But since 2019, employment in entertainment has fallen by more than 21%. Employment in transportation and warehousing grew 1.7% in L.A. 2024 — up 5.3% since 2019.

Month-to-month: The L.A. area added 12,100 jobs (0.3%) from November to December. Orange County lost jobs — 2,100, a 0.1% decrease — over the same period. Statewide, California added 15,000 jobs in December, up 0.1% from November.

Growing industries: The employment sectors with the most growth in California in 2024 included healthcare (4.2%); arts, entertainment and recreation (3%); local government (2.8%); and transportation, warehousing and utilities (2.4%).

Go deeper: Research nationwide job numbers on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

This article was produced with research provided by APM Research Lab and Marketplace.

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