At Hengdian Film and Television City, a newly graduated professional actor found his first job and earned his first income; In Zhengzhou, a prop master gradually gained stable project resources and was able to spend more time with his family after settling down; In Xi'an, a post production team is able to quickly and in bulk complete short drama editing... These seemingly scattered individual stories connect the thriving development of an emerging cultural industry. Recently, the National Development Research Institute of Peking University released the "Calculation Report on the Development Pattern and Employment Boosting Effect of China's Micro Drama Industry in 2025" (hereinafter referred to as the "Calculation Report"). Data shows that by 2025, the overall contribution of micro dramas to the national job market is expected to exceed 2.03 million people. This audio-visual product, measured in minutes, breaks through the boundaries of the traditional film and television industry, becoming a powerful "reservoir" for employment and driving the job market towards high-quality development with the advantages of emerging cultural formats. The emergence and development of micro dramas in the context of a smartphone dominated media environment, with fragmented time structures and concentrated release of public emotional needs, has given rise to a new form of cultural product driven by user preferences and possessing the ability to expand on a large scale. ”Speaking of micro dramas, Zhang Dandan, Vice Dean of the National Development Research Institute at Peking University, said. In the just passed year of 2025, this new type of cultural product has completed its transformation from a "peripheral form" to a "mainstream cultural industry". Industry calculation data shows that from 2020 to 2025, the size of the micro drama market has grown nearly a hundred times. According to the White Paper on the Development of China's Micro Drama Industry (2025) compiled by the China Network Audiovisual Association, there are currently 100200 micro drama related enterprises in China, and about 40000 vertical screen dramas will be launched by 2025. At the same time, data from the "Calculation Report" shows that the monthly production of micro dramas in China has stabilized at over 3000 units. The development of the short drama industry has created a large-scale demand for personnel in the production end, mainly reflected in the normalization of the crew's organizational structure, high labor intensity, and the improvement of job turnover efficiency brought about by short production cycles. ”Relevant person in charge of ByteDance said. Compared with traditional long dramas that often require hundreds of people and production cycles of several months, micro dramas have the characteristics of "short cycle, fast pace, and multiple projects running in parallel", and their production logic is completely different. According to the "Calculation Report" data, the size of a single micro drama production team is usually 60-90 people, covering positions such as director, photography, lighting, service, production, recording, and basic field operations, covering the entire process from pre shooting to post production. Although the personnel size is smaller than traditional film and television crews, the shooting cycle of a short drama from start to finish is usually compressed to 5 to 10 days, and some projects can even be as short as 3 to 7 days - efficient pace means that the same core personnel can participate in dozens of short drama productions within a year. This not only greatly improves the efficiency of human resource utilization, but also brings long-term and stable job expectations to practitioners, attracting a large influx of talents. Taking screenwriters as an example, data from the Hongguo Short Drama Creation Service Platform shows that the number of collaborative screenwriters has shown exponential growth from January to September 2025. In less than a year, the platform's screenwriting collaboration has increased nearly nine times, far exceeding the growth rate of the traditional film and television script creation industry. Micro dramas have expanded the overall employment capacity through massive economies of scale, accurately activating the human resources that are often 'idle' in the traditional film and television industry due to project interruptions, and enabling practitioners such as screenwriters, photographers, venue management, and service providers to achieve a sustainable virtuous cycle of 'having work to do and making money to earn'. ”Industry insiders have stated that "the micro drama industry has become an important reservoir for absorbing young people, flexible employment personnel, and traditional film and television overflow talents. It not only provides a stage for professional talents, but also offers a tangible source of income and career development path for a large number of workers." The "multiplier effect" shows that the industry chain and regions resonate with the same frequency. According to the "Calculation Report" data, by 2025, the national short drama industry will directly absorb about 690000 people in employment. However, in addition to the actors in the spotlight, those who do not appear in front of the camera are also the main force driving the development of the industry. The calculation results from the National Development Research Institute of Peking University show that every job directly related to short dramas can drive 1.95 indirect employment opportunities in the supply chain and consumer end, together forming a solid foundation for a total employment of 2.03 million. Where did '1.95 indirect employment opportunities' come from? In Zhang Dandan's view, the indirect driving effect of micro dramas is mainly reflected in the upstream and downstream industrial chains such as platform operation, e-commerce derivatives, and life support. The multiplier effect generated by these links is like a stone entering water, profoundly affecting the economic ecology from online to offline, from first tier cities to the central and western regions. The "Calculation Report" shows that Hengdian relies on mature film and television infrastructure, with an average monthly production of 400-500 micro dramas, seamlessly integrating the advantages of traditional film and television industry into new formats; Zhengzhou mainly focuses on modern themes, utilizing its significant advantages in manpower and venue costs, as well as its powerful transportation hub function, to flexibly transform idle shopping malls and parks into highly intensive indoor shooting bases, forming a strong scale effect and becoming a "city of vertical screens"; Xi'an has both ancient and modern scene resources and talent advantages, with a monthly output of micro dramas about 1.2-1.3 times that of Zhengzhou. It has formed an industrial cluster in post production and other aspects, attracting a large number of professional talents in editing, special effects, sound effects, and other fields. At the same time, "traveling with short dramas" has become a new trend in consumption. A short drama filmed in Liuyang, Hunan, used festive scenes to drive a surge in local holiday tourism; Some TV dramas filmed in ancient cities and characteristic neighborhoods have elevated the filming locations to internet famous cities. In the industry's view, this undoubtedly anchors employment opportunities and development momentum precisely in specific regions, providing a path for central and western cities to achieve "overtaking" in the digital economy era. The creation of micro dramas is not only the accumulation of employment opportunities, but also a new development paradigm that deeply integrates local resources and activates regional economic potential. ”A member of the calculation team from the National Development Research Institute of Peking University stated that "the micro drama industry has revitalized idle space, cultural resources, tourism resources, and human resources in the local area, stimulated the prosperity of supporting service industries such as catering, accommodation, rental, tour guides, and e-commerce, activated regional economic potential, and stimulated the growth of related industries such as tourism, physical commodity sales, and offline experience in central and western cities." Going beyond the initial mode and heading towards a new blue ocean of high-quality employment, 2025 has passed, and the development core of the micro drama industry has quietly changed, gradually moving away from the initial mode of "small cost, fast output" and shifting from pursuing economies of scale to relying on quality improvement and systematic construction. In 2025, under policy guidance such as the "Notice on Implementing the 'Micro Short Drama+' Action Plan to Empower Thousands of Businesses", micro short dramas will achieve significant breakthroughs in mainstream communication channels and creative dimensions, enhance the synergy effect of the network, and become more diverse in theme forms. The industry will show a clear trend of "simultaneous improvement in quantity and quality, and integrated development". At the same time, the business model of micro dramas is also changing. Members of the calculation team at the National Development Research Institute of Peking University stated that the business model of micro dramas is shifting from being dominated by "a small number of paid dramas" in the early days to a mature form of "free access to content and advertising revenue sharing". This means that the creator's revenue is linked to "user retention" and "viewing depth", and the content needs to withstand the test of "enduring viewing". The industrialization process, aesthetic pursuit, and technological investment need to systematically approach the standards of long dramas and movies. This refined upgrade has put forward higher requirements for high-quality talents and has also given rise to more new forms of employment. Wei Qintao, the person in charge of the Red Fruit Short Drama Boutique, stated that the development of AI animation has given birth to AI animation masters who not only understand generative artificial intelligence technology, but also possess drama literacy and a sense of the internet; The pace of micro dramas going global is accelerating, and overseas operation talents with cross-cultural understanding ability and localized operation thinking have become a new demand in the industry; In order to improve user reach and retention rates, operations optimization specialists have emerged. These new professions provide a different development path for young talents such as college graduates from traditional industries, making micro dramas a "new magnetic field" for absorbing high-quality young talents for employment, and also promoting the industry to combine artistic creation with standardized, specialized, and high-quality production. In the new year, we plan to increase investment, introduce more professional talents and technologies, and raise the industry's upper limit in aesthetics, artistic expression, and other aspects. ”Wei Qintao stated. From the perspective of the industry, miniseries are large-scale training and tempering a new talent team in the film and television industry that is well versed in the laws of Internet communication, has the ability of rapid iteration and a high degree of collaboration. The practice of micro dramas not only alleviates employment pressure, but also reserves and exercises valuable human capital in advance for the future development of the cultural industry in a market-oriented manner. ”Industry insiders say, "This means that the stage of micro dramas is performing a profound change from 'rapid development' to 'value cultivation', from 'flexible employment' to 'talent foundation'