L.A. Entertainment Business Becoming Less White But More ‘White Collar’

As Hollywood shrinks, the industry’s workforce is becoming an increasingly “exclusive club” with a surge in “knowledge-intensive,” so-called “white collar” positions. But it’s also becoming more racially diverse, a recent study shows. 

Film and TV jobs now make up a smaller share of Los Angeles entertainment industry employment than they have in 30 years. Nevertheless, the percentage of college-educated workers has shot up to 68% in 2022, from 46% in 2000. And in 2022, for the first time the majority of entertainment workers were nonwhite, according to the most recent Otis College Report on the Creative Economy.

According to the study, the share of creative workers who are white dropped from 71% in 2013 to 60% in 2022, while the share of black creative workers grew from 5% to 9%.