NEA: Actors on the Rise in U.S.

Backstage: "Actors claiming that the competition is fiercer today than it used to be now have data to bolster their point. In 2005, there were nearly 40,000 people in the United States whose primary job was acting, a 10.6 increase from the previous 10 years, according to a study released Thursday by the National Endowment for the Arts. However, the rate of growth for actors is less than the overall growth rate for artists — about 16 percent, roughly equal to the overall workforce in the United States."