Georgia Leads Global Film Workforce Opportunity, New Study Shows Path to Capture Millions in Local Wages

Staff report by Georgia Insider and Georgia Entertainment

A new global workforce study from Kalison Studios positions Georgia at the center of the next phase of film and television industry growth through smarter workforce development.

The inaugural Local Hire Rate (LHR) Report, spanning 77 production markets across 31 U.S. states and 46 international jurisdictions, introduces the first standardized way to measure how effectively production spending translates into jobs for local crews. The findings reinforce a critical shift: the markets that win long-term are not just those that attract production, but those that retain the economic value through a trained, local workforce.

Across the global portfolio, $41.5 billion in annual production spend generates $13.3 billion in below-the-line crew wages. However, approximately $3 billion of those wages leave local economies each year, paid to imported workers. Of that, $2.5 billion represents a clear opportunity—roles that could be filled by local workers with targeted training and workforce development. The report estimates that roughly 91,000 jobs globally fall into this “addressable” category, signaling a significant opportunity for regions willing to invest in building their crew base.

Georgia emerges as the top-ranked market in Kalison’s newly introduced Market Opportunity Score, a composite index measuring where workforce investment can deliver the greatest return. With a current Local Hire Rate of 72%, Georgia has meaningful headroom, and each 1% increase in local hiring equates to approximately $8.3 million in wages retained within the state. In total, the study identifies $199 million in addressable wage leakage in Georgia alone. This underscores the scale of opportunity to further strengthen the state’s position as a global production hub.

Read in full at Georgia Entertainment