Arts and recreation: Hospitality's fun side

How do you like to spend your spare time, those hours you aren't working, cleaning the house or cooking dinner for your family? (Watching TV does not count!) For many, the answers that come to mind include going to sports events, live theatre, the gym, playing a round of golf and a number of other leisure activities that stimulate the mind and nourish the soul.

The arts, entertainment and recreation industry is a very large sector of the workforce that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employed about 2 million people in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. This somewhat catch-all employment category covers everything from pro sports games to rock concerts to skating rinks to museums and everything in between. It even includes your health club.
(Of note is that the BLS does not include movie theaters in this category. The distribution and screening of films is categorized along with motion picture production in the information supersector.)
Arts, entertainment and recreation are broken down into three subsectors. The first is live performances and events. This includes the aforementioned pro sporting events, both amateur and professional. Companies that work in promoting sports, from the farm leagues to the NFL, are also counted here.

Along with sports are live theatrical and musical performances, from the Broadway show to the singer-songwriter performing at your local coffee shop. In addition to the performers themselves, counted here are the booking agents, managers, producers and all back-stage and tech people responsible for getting shows up and running.
In other words, your skill set doesn't have to be acting or singing to work with and around entertainment!

The second subsector in this industry is historical, cultural, or educational exhibits. This includes most museums, but it is important to note that the BLS counts here only privately owned museums. Those run by local or the federal government, such as the Smithsonian, are counted with federal government jobs and considered a part of that industry.
The third and final subsector in this industry is recreation or leisure activities. One of the big players in this field is casinos, but also included are games manufacturers (for instance, the good folks who make and install the Pac-Man at your bowling alley), amusement parks, waterslides, go-cart tracks, day camps, ski lifts and the like. On the more expensive end of the spectrum, golf courses and private country clubs are also counted here.

Aside from high-energy rollercoasters, which many people only encounter once in a while, the recreation or leisure activities subsector also includes a more regular part of daily life: fitness centers. This comprises any establishments that offer equipment or training for physical wellness (apart from physical therapy, which is a part of the health care industry), such as a gym, yoga or aerobics center, or dance studio.

About 25 percent of the workers in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry are under 25 years old, compared to just 13 percent across all industries. This industry has long been and will continue to be a good source of employment for seasonal, part-time and young workers, according to the BLS. Furthermore, it is an industry that does not require a lot of education on the whole: 37 percent of workers in 2008 did not have schooling beyond high school.

The largest group of workers, 57 percent, fell into the "other amusement and recreation" category on the BLS's breakdown. This includes fitness centers, golf courses and clubs. Perhaps ironically, the smallest percentage of workers in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry are the independent artists, writers and performers themselves, comprising just 2.6 percent of workers.

The good news: the BLS predicts a larger-than-average job growth rate in this industry for the decade 2008-2018. While the average growth rate across all industries is 11 percent, jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation are expected to go up by 15 percent.