More LA entertainment job losses seen in 09: report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Entertainment industry jobs in the Los Angeles area will decline further in 2009 after an annual decline in 2008, according to a research report released on Wednesday.

After falling to 154,000 in 2008 from 157,800 in 2007, industry jobs in the region are forecast to fall to 153,600 in 2009, mostly due to cutbacks in broadcasting, according to the report from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp, a private research organization.

The industry faces challenges on many fronts, said Jack Kyser, the group's lead economist.

He said the television sector was hurt by the Writers Guild strike that ended in early 2008 and shrinking audiences for broadcast television.

Workers in feature films are feeling the pinch from cost cuts at the studios and California's lack of film production incentives, Kyser said.

"We have the issue of runaway production. A lot of people say its 'ranaway production,'" said Kyser. "There are fewer feature films being made here. This is not good news for below-the-line workers or the multitude of small suppliers to the industry," he said.

(Reporting by Sue Zeidler; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)