Entertainment employment in the greater Los Angeles area took a big hit during the writers’ and actors’ strikes, according to a study released Thursday by the Otis College of Art and Design in conjunction with Westwood Economics and Planning Associates.

But the strikes were not the only causes of the contraction, the report found.

The study — which measured the economic impact of the twin walkouts on the local film and TV industry — recorded a 17% decrease in employment since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in May. Just before the work stoppage began, about 142,652 workers were employed in Hollywood, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of October, that number had dropped to 117,853.

Actors and writers experienced the sharpest decline in employment during the strikes, while camera operators, editors, sound and lighting technicians and other crew members also experienced a reduction in job opportunities, the report says.

The writers’ and actors’ strikes — which ended in September and November, respectively — undoubtedly took a major toll, hampering development and stalling production on big studio releases for about six months. In the third quarter of 2023, production on TV dramas, comedies and pilots was down nearly 100% compared with the previous year, while feature film shoots plummeted by about 55%, the study says.

Due to the production shortage, the report estimates that entertainment industry workers based in the L.A. area collectively lost more than $1.4 billion in wages between April and September, which amounts to roughly .5% of what Hollywood employees make annually.

According to the study, 26% of entertainment jobs were cut between August 2022 (when employment rates peaked following the global health crisis) and October 2023.

The study found that the dramatic increase in TV production leading up to and during the streaming boom resulted in an excess of small-screen content that probably won’t be sustainable moving forward.

Since they were created in an attempt to keep up with the times and compete with Netflix, many streaming services have consistently lost money, investors have become more conservative and a number of streamers have slashed their production budgets, the report explains.