Jobs in the solar industry grew 5.3%, and the Department of Energy expects this to double the share of electricity generation from clean energy sources by 2030.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), which shows that the energy workforce overall added over 250,000 jobs in 2023; 56% of those were in clean energy. The clean energy sector now accounts for more than half of new energy sector jobs and is growing twice as fast the rest of the energy sector and the U.S. economy overall.
The report finds that unions are playing a huge role in the clean energy sector, with unionization rates at 12.4%, compared to the average rate in the energy sector of 11%. Unionized job growth is driven by construction and utility industries. The energy construction sector, for example, was found to have added nearly 90,000 energy jobs, growing 4.5%, almost double the economy-wide construction employment growth of 2.3%. The utilities sector saw the fastest employment growth of 5.0% in 2023, adding nearly 30,000 jobs.
Geographically, clean energy jobs showed growth in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The fastest growth (7.7%) was seen in Idaho, followed by Texas (6.0%), and New Mexico (5.9%).
Jobs in the solar industry grew 5.3%, and the DOE expects this to double the share of electricity generation from clean energy sources by 2030, as the country moves closer to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
As the move to onshore the domestic supply chain steps up, more manufacturing jobs are becoming available. The report found that solar and battery and other clean energy manufacturing facilities have added another 28,000 jobs in 2023. Also included here are jobs in ports for offshore wind, and warehouses to store and transport clean energy products.
“Our policies are working. We are now starting to see the job impacts of investments made through the infrastructure and inflation reduction laws – first in construction and as America builds more of these factories, we’ll see hundreds of thousands more,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The data clearly show that clean energy means jobs – good jobs, union jobs, and jobs retained – in communities across the country as we race to dominate the global clean energy economy.”
This year’s report reflects a record number of survey responses from 42,000 business nationwide. To read the full 2024 USEER National report, go to U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report (USEER).
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