Entertainment employment in Los Angeles hit hard by COVID-19: report

LOS ANGELES, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The employment in Los Angeles's arts, entertainment and recreation industry plummeted by 39 percent in April, according to updated figures of a report released Monday by the city, known as the Entertainment Capital of the World.

The "COVID-19 Job Losses in L.A." map, originally released last month by City Controller Ron Galperin, illustrated where Los Angeles lost approximately 268,000 jobs in March and April due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

The updated figures, also released by Galperin, showed that in May, as the "Safer at Home" order was eased by the local authority, some industries began rehiring workers for the first time since February. The second largest city of the United States gained 16,000 jobs in the month, but it is still down more than 252,000 jobs since the pandemic hit.

Some industry sectors, including accommodation and food services, waste management, construction and manufacturing created more employments than others, however, job losses continued to mount in other sectors, including arts, entertainment and recreation industry.

"It is painfully clear that the pandemic has taken a steep toll on people's lives and the local and national economies. Unemployment increased dramatically during the months of March and April - reaching record breaking numbers across nearly all industries." the report read.

As to Los Angeles County, where Hollywood is located, entertainment industry also suffered a lot from COVID-19. Galperin's report quoted the latest data from California Employment Development Department showing the worrisome situation.

Los Angels County lost more than 685,000 jobs in March and April, with some of the hardest hit industries being accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation, and retail trade.

A report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC) said that the entertainment industry is one of the largest industries in the county and many who work in the industry were paid well above of the average.