A new report from Bectu, the UK’s trade union for the creative industries, has found that more than half (52 per cent) of the UK’s film and TV workforce are still out of work.
Bectu surveyed more than 2,300 film and TV workers from across the UK. Some 38 per cent of respondents said they planned to leave the film and TV industry in the next five years, up from 24 per cent in September 2023 and 37 per cent in February 2024.
Other key findings include:
- The proportion of those out of work is high across all sectors, including film (52%), TV drama (51%), unscripted TV (57%) and commercials (53%).
- Just 6% say they have seen a full recovery in their employment since the US industrial action was called. In February, this figure was 4%.
- BAME respondents are more likely to report being out of work currently than their white counterparts (51% white, 62% Black/Black British, 67% Asian/Asian British and 56% other BAME workers are currently out of work).
- 54% of disabled workers are currently out of work, compared with 52% of those without disabilities.
Commenting on the research, head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “The film and TV workforce has already faced incredible and unprecedented hardships throughout and following the pandemic and have now been hit by a second crisis that shows little signs of abating. There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the industry over the past year – about strikes in the US, a downturn in ad revenue, and reduced commissioning.
“Clearly, little has materially improved for the workforce and these discussions must be laser-focused on how we can collectively make things better for workers, who are critical to the sector’s success but continue to bear the brunt of industry changes,” she continued.
“Our findings speak for themselves – if the industry doesn’t take tangible and collective action soon, we will see a huge skills exodus and a further deterioration in industry diversity, alongside prolonged mental health challenges and debilitating financial difficulties.”
