Showbiz employment outlook troubling

Entertainment employment in the Los Angeles area will be flat in 2009 and post a modest uptick next year, but the long-term outlook remains worrisome. In a report to be circulated Wednesday, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a private research organization, says the local motion picture and sound-recording industries will add about 1,000 jobs this year, while broadcasters and cable companies will cut 1,000 positions. In 2010, the local entertainment sector will add about 2,000 jobs, bringing film employment to 128,000 and TV employment to 19,000, the LAEDC estimates. But runaway film production -- in which producers base projects outside Southern California to take advantage of lower costs or financial incentives -- and small-staff reality TV programing remain threatening trends, according to LAEDC economist Jack Kyser.