L.A. County Coronavirus Update: 890,000 Entertainment Industry Employees Are Now Out Of A Job

Tom Tapp
·3 min read

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UPDATED WEDNESDAY, 6 PM After L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger announced that a shocking “Eight hundred and ninety thousand film and entertainment employees are not working,” Barger’s assistant chief deputy communications director, Michelle Vega, clarified the Supervisor’s statement.

“It should have been, ‘many of whom are not working,'” said Vega, indicating that the supervisor’s statement should have included that detail.

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Thus, according to her spokesperson, supervisor Barger meant to say that there are “Eight hundred and ninety thousand film and entertainment employees, many of whom are not working.”

So where did Barger get that number? Vega said it came from Universal Chairman Donna Langley, who was a part of the Los Angeles County Economic Resiliency Task Force meeting on Tuesday.

“It’s what Donna Langley said during yesterday’s meeting,” said Vega.

Given the lack of clarity in general here, it could be that Langley simply referenced the MPA data released earlier this year that shows there are 892,000 direct jobs in the film and TV industry in the entire U.S.

PREVIOUSLYOn Wednesday, L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger delivered eye-opening details from yesterday’s meeting of the Los Angeles County Economic Resiliency Task Force.

The task force serves to develop actionable recommendations for the County to improve the economy, create jobs and return the area to full employment. Among the 13 sectors represented are small businesses, infrastructure, education, arts and culture and the entertainment industry.

“Yesterday’s meeting,” said Supervisor Barger, “provided an opportunity to for the sector leaders to share about the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and employees.”

Barger called the results “sobering.” Yesterday, after the meeting, she called for “health officials to safely make way for Los Angeles County to reopen by the Fourth of July.” One can now see why.

“Eight hundred and ninety thousand film and entertainment employees are not working,” said the supervisor, before noting the trickle down effect of those job losses to smaller supporting businesses makes the impact of far greater.

On March 17, Deadline reported that IATSE estimated 120,000 of its members had lost their jobs.

Entertainment is not the only hard-hit sector.

Eighty percent of jobs in the restaurant industry have reportedly been lost, she said.

“Prolonged closure means that many small businesses may not be able to reopen, and will cause permanent jobs losses for millions throughout this county.”

Barger tweeted yesterday about the meeting.

“Many of the experts the County has assembled for this Task Force have been working hard to develop safe and efficient plans to revitalize their sectors as early as next month,” Supervisor Barger said on Tuesday. “I remain focused on working with industry leaders and health officials to safely make way for Los Angeles County to reopen by the Fourth of July.”

By the end of June, the task force sector leaders aim to have plans to reopen finalized, revealed Barger.

“I am looking forward to a safe and stable recovery,” she said.

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