More than half of UK screen industry professionals are still out of work a year after the Hollywood actors strikes, according to Bectu’s latest data.
Surveying 2,375 of its members about the impact of the strikes on UK production, the union found that 52% remain out of work as production has not returned to 2023 levels.
Non-scripted is hit hardest, with 57% out of work.
This is a better picture than in February, when 68% were out of work, suggesting work has started to pick up.
However, among this sample, just 6% had seen their workloads return to the same level as before the strikes, with work postponed and yet to be rescheduled, and streamers and broadcasters cutting their budgets.
The snapshot showed that 38% plan to leave the industry within five years, slightly above the 37% polled in February and far exceeding last September's 24%.
Again, non-scripted workers are the least optimistic, with 53% planning to leave, while non-white individuals also over-represented: 44% of Black respondents, 41% of Asian respondents and 40% of respondents from mixed or multiple ethnic groups all saying they expect to leave.
Bectu boss Philippa Childs said the 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.”
Assistant producer Amina Hassam, who works in documentaries, told The Times that she has not had a TV job in nearly two years and has taken office temp work to make ends meet.
“It’s been really tough across both scripted and unscripted,” she said. “We’ve all found it difficult … The market has collapsed.”
The report highlighted some signs of recovery, citing production of upcoming movies Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and The Thursday Murder Club, as well as Amazon's purchase of Bray Film Studios near Windsor.
Bectu's sample represents around 4% of the estimated 66,000 people working in film and TV in the UK.
