U.S. information industries in September recorded the largest job gains since the pandemic began hitting the country, driven largely by a rush of movie theaters reopening for the first major box office release in months.
The sector's recovery could prove temporary, however, as studios continue to push back major film releases, and one of the top U.S. theater chains said Oct. 5 that it would soon close all of its domestic locations again due to the limited box office schedule this fall.
The information sector — which includes the publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications and data processing industries — saw net job gains totaling about 27,600 in September, according to preliminary data on employment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of the growth — 23,200 jobs — occurred in the motion picture and sound recording industries.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world's largest theater operator, resumed U.S. operations in late August. In the U.S. as of Sept. 14, 461 theaters were reopened, representing 77% of the total U.S. theaters. As of Sept. 30, AMC said over 80% of all AMC U.S. locations have resumed operations with health-related capacity limitations and other safety precautions.
Likewise, as of Sept. 23, theater operator Cinemark Holdings Inc. said it had opened 75% of its U.S. circuit.
It remains unclear whether movie theaters will continue to bring back jobs, however. Director Christopher Nolan's "Tenet," the first big theatrical release since the pandemic, opened to a disappointing $20.2 million stateside over a long holiday weekend, with Variety reporting the three-day weekend total at just $9 million. AT&T Inc.'s Warner Bros. did not seem enthusiastic about that result, saying that it would postpone the debut of its next tentpole title "Wonder Woman 1984."
Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures followed suit with a delay for "Candyman," The Walt Disney Co. pushed its Marvel picture "Black Widow" back to 2021, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Universal Pictures said "No Time to Die," the latest installment in the James Bond franchise, would be delayed until April 2021.
That leaves October with no major blockbuster debuts to support theater operators heading into the holiday season. Citing the lack of fresh box office fare, Cineworld Group PLC, the owner of Regal theaters in the U.S., said it will temporarily close its 536 venues in the country on Oct. 8. The company will also close its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse-branded theaters in the U.K. The closures will impact about 45,000 employees in total.
Outside of the motion picture and sound recording industries, the broadcasting industry added a net of 4,400 jobs in September, while other information services added a net of 1,900.
The U.S. economy overall added a net of 661,000 nonfarm jobs during the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marking the smallest hike since the labor market recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump began.
The biggest gains were seen in the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 318,000 jobs during the month. Trade, transportation and utilities followed closely behind with 237,000 job gains.
Federal, state and local governments, meanwhile, all reported a decrease in workers during the month.
All told, the unemployment rate declined to 7.9% in September from 8.4% in August.
