Blame it on the Recession

In yet another measure of the recession’s toll, the Screen Actors Guild reports that its members’ film and television earnings declined 2.2% in 1991 to $1.08 billion--the biggest drop since the megaflop box-office year of 1971. The average actor’s earnings fell 5.3% to $11,920, and almost two-thirds of the 76,000-member union earned less than in 1990.

“SAG members faced the triple whammy of a shrinking employment base, falling salaries, and an expansion in membership which heightened the competition for work,” said Robert Cain, SAG research director.

SAG members’ earnings, millions of dollars:

1987: $874.1

1988: $866.1

1989: $1,019.8

1990: $1,103.6

1991: $1,079.3

Source: Screen Actors Guild