ICYMI: Reuters: “US clean energy jobs growth rate double that of overall jobs, report says”
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Washington, D.C. — Clean energy jobs grew at double the rate of overall jobs in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report released today by the Department of Energy.
Climate Power Communications Director Alex Glass issued the following statement:
“Investments in clean energy are investments in our workers and our economy. Heading into Labor Day weekend, a time when we celebrate the power and contributions of our workforce in moving our nation forward, this new report underscores just how integral our American workforce is to building the economy of the future and lowering energy costs across the country. Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to triple clean energy production and create hundreds of thousands of these good-paying union jobs that don’t require a college degree. Donald Trump’s dangerous Big Oil-backed Project 2025 agenda would end these clean energy investments and lay off our booming workforce. The stakes of this election are clear, and we cannot go back.”
Reuters: US clean energy jobs growth rate double that of overall jobs, report says
Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry in 2023 grew at more than double the rate of the country’s overall jobs, and unionization in clean energy surpassed for the first time the rate in the wider energy industry, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.
Employment in clean energy businesses – including wind, solar, nuclear and battery storage – rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% last year, up from a rise of 3.9% in 2022, the U.S. Energy and Employment Report said. The rate was above the overall U.S. job growth rate of 2% in 2023.
Unionization rates in clean energy hit 12.4%, more than the 11% in the overall energy business, it said. That was driven by growth in construction and utility industries and after legislation passed in 2022 including the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the department said.
Construction jobs in clean energy, driven by the legislation and private-sector investments, “is expected to continue for decades to build out the clean energy infrastructure that we need,” Betony Jones, the Energy Department’s head of energy jobs, told reporters in a call. While unionized members “might move from project to project, there is continuity of that work in order for workers to make a career in that industry,” she said.
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