# Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling

US SOC code 11-9072. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/11-9072

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **37,980** US entertainment and recreation managers (except gambling), with median pay of **$79,520** a year. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/national-recreation-association/) of **5,000** from 1930, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for entertainment and recreation managers: Mobile apps, real-time occupancy sensors, and social-media program marketing, 2012 to 2022.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9072&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **38.2%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv) (Official statistic)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1906
- Latest US employment: 37,980 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $79,520 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [11]

### All 8 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1930 | 5,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Recreation Association (Social… [1] |
| 1955 | 18,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Recreation and Park Association [2] |
| 1980 | 32,000 (estimate) | $16,500 (average) (estimate) | Est., U.S. Census Bureau (employment) [3]; Est., National Recreation and Park Association (pay) [5] |
| 2021 | 17,800 | $62,000 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 22,950 | $67,220 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 29,690 | $73,460 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 36,700 | $77,180 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 37,980 | $79,520 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (29)

### Employment series

1. [National Recreation Association (Social Welfare History Project, VCU Libraries) -- founding and professional development of municipal recreation, 1906-1930](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/national-recreation-association/), VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project
2. [National Recreation and Park Association -- organizational history and formation (1906-1965)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recreation_and_Park_Association), Wikipedia / NRPA
3. [U.S. Census Bureau -- Detailed Occupation of the Experienced Civilian Labor Force: 1980 and 1970 (PC80-S1-15)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1984/demo/pc80-s1-15.html), U.S. Census Bureau
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

5. [National Recreation and Park Association -- organizational history and professional certification (NRPA.org)](https://www.nrpa.org/About-National-Recreation-and-Park-Association/), National Recreation and Park Association
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

7. [Social Welfare History Project (VCU) -- National Recreation Association history and professional development (1906-1965)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/national-recreation-association/), VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project
8. [PBS American Experience -- "Reinventing the American Amusement Park" (Disneyland management and operational systems, 1955)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reinventing-american-amusement-park/), PBS / WGBH
9. [IDEA Health and Fitness Association -- "Fitness and Wellness Intertwine: A Major Industry Rises" (history of fitness center management and early software)](https://www.ideafit.com/fitness-and-wellness-intertwine-major-industry-rises/), IDEA Health and Fitness Association
10. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Entertainment and Recreation Managers (current tools and work environment description)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/entertainment-and-recreation-managers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

11. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 11-9072 Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling (2025: 43.9 thousand; 2035: 46.5 thousand; +6.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9072&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 11-9072.00, human-rated β 0.382)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

13. [VCU Social Welfare History Project -- National Recreation Association (founded 1906 as Playground Association of America)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/national-recreation-association/), VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project
14. [HISTORY.com -- "Disneyland opens" (July 17, 1955; first-weeks attendance and management model)](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-17/disneyland-opens), HISTORY
15. [National Recreation and Park Association -- organizational history and CPRP certification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recreation_and_Park_Association), Wikipedia / NRPA
16. [PBS American Experience -- "Reinventing the American Amusement Park" (Disney operations innovation and management systems)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reinventing-american-amusement-park/), PBS / WGBH
17. [BLS OEWS 2021 -- 11-9072 Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling (first full OEWS year under 2018 SOC)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes119072.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
18. [The Kitchen Pickleball -- "A Timeline of the Past 25 Years of Pickleball in the U.S." (20 million players by 2024)](https://thekitchenpickle.com/blogs/news/modern-history-of-pickleball-us-growth/), The Kitchen Pickleball

### Predecessors & successors

19. [VCU Social Welfare History Project -- National Recreation Association (Playground Association of America founding, 1906)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/national-recreation-association/), VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.