National indicators
National indicators
Four official federal series describing the national conditions every local live music market operates inside: what admission prices are doing against the general price level, what households spend on live entertainment, how many people are on performing arts payrolls, and what the promoter and event workforce earns.
These are not Live Index constructs. Each series is published by a federal statistical agency and is stored here exactly as released, with the agency, programme and series identifier recorded against every figure. Live Index performs only arithmetic that can be reproduced from the stored levels — twelve-month change, rebasing to a common period, and ratios between two published series. Where a source is not retrievable, the page says so and publishes nothing in its place.
01 · Admissions prices vs. consumer prices
Series notes and methodAre admission prices rising faster than prices in general?
The consumer price index for admissions to movies, theaters and concerts, tracked against the all-items index, so admissions inflation can be read against the general price level rather than in isolation.
+2.3%
Admissions prices, change over 12 months
July 2026
-1.0 points against all items, which changed +3.3% over the same period.
102.6
Admissions relative to all items, January 2011 = 100
July 2026
Above 100, admissions prices have outpaced the general price level since the base month.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), series CUSR0000SS62031; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), series CUSR0000SA0. Retrieved by Live Index 2026-08-14.
02 · Household spending on live entertainment
Series notes and methodHow much do U.S. households spend on live entertainment admissions?
Personal consumption expenditures on admissions to live entertainment excluding sports, from the Bureau of Economic Analysis monthly underlying detail accounts.
Source not connected
The Bureau of Economic Analysis Data API requires a registered UserID. Live Index does not hold one for this environment, so no expenditure figure is published on this page.
The series is registered as U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, NIPA Underlying Detail Table 2.4.5U, monthly personal consumption expenditures (U20405). No figure, placeholder or substitute is published for it until the source is retrievable.
03 · Performing arts employment
Series notes and methodHow many people are on performing arts payrolls?
Payroll employment at performing arts companies, NAICS 7111, from the national Current Employment Statistics survey — the highest-frequency federal read on the sector's labour base.
145,700
Jobs on performing arts payrolls, seasonally adjusted
June 2026 · preliminary
+2.6% over twelve months.
110.4%
Of the February 2020 level
Baseline February 2020
February 2020 is the last full month before the sector's shutdown and is the standard reference for recovery.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES), national, series CES7071110001. Retrieved by Live Index 2026-08-14.
04 · Promoter and live-event workforce
Series notes and methodHow large is the promoter and event-operations workforce, and what does it earn?
Employment and wages across all occupations at promoters of performing arts, sports and similar events, NAICS 711300, from the annual Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme.
- 194,390
- Jobs in NAICS 711300
- $21.64
- Median hourly wage, all occupations
- $28.80
- Mean hourly wage, all occupations
- $45,020
- Median annual wage
May 2025
May 2025
May 2025
May 2025
The mean hourly wage sits 33.1 percent above the median, which is the arithmetic signature of a distribution in which a minority of well-paid roles carries the average while the typical job in the industry pays materially less.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national industry-specific, series OEUN000000071130000000001; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national industry-specific, series OEUN000000071130000000008; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national industry-specific, series OEUN000000071130000000003; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national industry-specific, series OEUN000000071130000000013. Retrieved by Live Index 2026-08-14.
Reference period May 2025.
Series register
- Personal consumption expenditures: admissions to specified spectator amusements, live entertainment excluding sportsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · U20405no observations
- Admissions to movies, theaters, and concerts, U.S. city averageU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · CUSR0000SS62031186 periods
- All items, U.S. city averageU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · CUSR0000SA0186 periods
- All employees, performing arts companies (NAICS 7111)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · CES7071110001186 periods
- Employment, promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events (NAICS 711300)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEUN0000000711300000000011 periods
- Median hourly wage, all occupations, NAICS 711300U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEUN0000000711300000000081 periods
- Mean hourly wage, all occupations, NAICS 711300U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEUN0000000711300000000031 periods
- Median annual wage, all occupations, NAICS 711300U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEUN0000000711300000000131 periods