City and state legislators are calling for an expansion of the city’s film tax credit and the creation of a postproduction tax credit as a means to bring more movie industry jobs to the city.

Council Member David Yassky, a likely candidate for city comptroller, said yesterday that expanding the credit to 15% from 5% could help bring in more business and mitigate the loss of jobs caused by Wall Street’s recent decline.

“I think now more than ever we got to be focused on having a diverse New York City economy,” Mr. Yassky said. “I’m confident we’re going to remain the financial capital of the world, but we also have to strengthen other sectors. Certainly the entertainment, film, and TV production sector is one we can continue to grow rapidly.”

The city created a 5% tax credit on film production in 2005, a move the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting said was responsible for bringing in about $600 million in new business and 6,000 film industry jobs.

At a press conference yesterday at City Hall in support of an expanded tax credit, elected officials, including state Senator Martin Golden and assemblymen Michael Gianaris and Micah Kellner, proposed raising the tax credit to 15%. Actors Bobby Cannavale, who won an Emmy for his role on “Will and Grace,” and Matt Servitto, who played an FBI agent on “The Sopranos,” attended the event.

The group also proposed creating a 10% postproduction tax credit. Movies that were also filmed in New York would receive a 15% tax credit for postproduction work.

Mr. Yassky said the business and jobs created by the tax credits in film and postproduction work would offset any initial loss in tax revenues.