More than half of the UK’s film and TV workforce are still out of work a year after the Hollywood strikes of 2023, new research has found.
According to a survey of more than 2,300 film and TV workers by the Bectu trade union, 52% of workers in the UK film sector are out of work, 51% in TV drama, 57% in unscripted TV and 53% in commercials.
Just 6% said they have seen a full recovery in their employment since the joint industrial action by Sag-Aftra and the Writers Guild of America.
The figures are down from the 68% who were out of work in a February 2024 survey, and 74% who were out of work in September 2023, which Bectu said indicates a slow recovery.
However the number of respondents who are planning to leave the film and TV industry in the next five years is increasing, from 24% in September 2023 to 37% in February 2024 and 38% now.
Industry diversity is particularly being affected, with 44% of Black/Black British respondents planning to leave the industry in the next five years, 41% of Asian/Asian British and 40% of mixed and multiple ethnic groups, compared to 37% for white respondents.
Of those with parenting and caring responsibilities, 41% see themselves leaving the industry in the next five years, compared to 36% of those without; while the figures are at 42% for respondents with a disability and 37% for those without.
Older workers are also much less likely to currently be in work, with 31% of 18-24s currently unemployed, compared to 46% of 24-34s, 50% of 35-44s, 57% of 45-54s, 58% of 55-64s and 68% of over-65s.
Respondents to the survey noted significant financial and mental health impacts, with 70% saying they have struggled with their mental wellbeing.
“The industry is changing form,” said one sculptor. “It doesn’t feel temporary. It feels like a long-term change. And it’s been one of the hardest years I’ve ever experienced, both financially and emotionally. We are not supported in any way.”
Another respondent, a series producer, said: “I have never struggled to find work like this in 25 years. I’ve had nothing at all in seven months. I feel used and discarded.”
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, said little had materially improved for the workforce and “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 added: “With a new government in place, we are doing all we can to ensure workers’ needs are top of the political agenda.
“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.”