The TV and film industries support 2.6 million jobs, pay $177 billion in wages and far beyond the Left and Right Coasts, said the Motion Picture Association of America in new economic figures released Monday (March 18).
Jobs directly related to the production and distribution of TV and films were 927,000 (340,000 production, 587,000 distribution). Those direct jobs are paid at 47% more than the national average ($55,390), with production-related jobs averaging $91,580 and distribution $75,560.
“The impact of the U.S. film and television industry reaches far beyond well-known creative hubs, such as Los Angeles, New York City and Atlanta,” said MPAA chair Charles Rivkin. “This industry supports jobs and businesses in all 50 states and is also highly competitive globally – generating $17.2 billion in exports and a positive balance of trade in every major market in the world.”
For the first time, the figures also include pay TV distribution jobs and wages.*
MPAA said of the 93,000 businesses that make up the industry, the vast majority (87%) are small businesses (fewer than 10 people).
* "Acquiring a new third party source allowed [MPAA] to estimate the proportion of those jobs within a code partially associated with the film and TV industry."
