“52 Per Cent Of UK Screen Industry Still Out Of Work” Following Last Year’s Strikes

Five months after Hollywood’s actors went back to work, the UK film industry continues to suffer with a reported 52% out of work.

The Times newspaper recalls the effect of the actors’ strike when dozens of film and TV production projects were halted in the UK, with sets closed and tens of thousands of professionals put out of work. It puts the number of UK staff in the film and TV production sector at 66,000.

And it reports that, months after actors agreed a new pay deal with Hollywood studios and went back to work (following the resolution of the separate screenwriters’ strike), 52% of industry professionals remain out of work, according to a new survey by broadcasting union Bectu. It quotes the survey of 2,375 members and reports that only 6% have seen their workloads return to pre-strike levels.

The Times reports that budgets of both streamers and linear broadcasters have fallen over the past year, and some postponed work has yet to be rescheduled. It quotes one production worker Jem Morton describing: “The level of unemployment in the industry right now is phenomenal.”

It also cites the challenges of freelance contracts with its lack of guaranteed employment, a reduction in advertising money leading to fewer greenlit projects and the long-lasting effects of lockdown prior to the strikes, when production ground to a halt on many others.

Big cinema hits made in the UK over the past couple of years include Barbie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Wonka.