A startling 336,000 new jobs were added to the US economy in September, more than double the 170,000 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted. However, the Hollywood strikes last month caused yet another hit to the jobs report, as the writer’s strike came to an end while the actor strike was still going on.
After falling by 17,000 in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that employment in the motion picture and sound recording industries had further declined by 7,000, “reflecting the impact of labor disputes.”
The number of people employed in such industries has decreased by 45,000 since the strikes initially started in May.
Following a dramatic climax to the writer’s strike last week, the two sides will reopen negotiations on Friday when striking Hollywood actors meet with studios.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiates on behalf of major studios like Warner Bros. (WBD), Disney (DIS), Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), Paramount (PARA), and Sony (SONY), and approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals, and SAG-AFTRA, started a strike on July 14 after failing to reach an agreement.
In addition to better pay, better working conditions, and higher streaming residuals as more films and TV shows move directly to streaming, SAG-AFTRA is fighting for more restrictions surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in media and entertainment, much like the authors do.
Before its studio settlement, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had been on strike for almost 150 days. Many of the guild’s demands, such as tighter controls on using artificial intelligence, minimum staffing standards, an increase in streaming residuals, and others, were met.
Although the union made it clear that it would evaluate the WGA agreement, the guild is ultimately committed to striking a settlement that is specific to its member base. Industry observers generally anticipate SAG-AFTRA to come to a similar conclusion.
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. believes that the 2007–2008 writers’ strike cost the local economy $2.5 billion. This time, that will probably increase by twofold.
The nearly five-month-old writers’ strike and the ongoing actors’ strike, according to Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist at the Milken Institute, will cost the US economy more than $5 billion.
According to Klowden’s previous statement to Yahoo Finance Live, “The main thing we’re factoring into it is the lost wages.” Klowden said that not just famous filming destinations like New York, Atlanta, Albuquerque, and Pittsburgh but also California will be impacted.
