A Return to Rapid Growth, with Clean Vehicle Jobs Driving Ahead
Clean energy companies employed more than 714,000 Midwesterners at the end of 2021, over a 5 percent increase from 2020 and a return to growth after an unprecedented decline in 2020. Approximately 55 percent of the clean energy jobs lost during the COVID-19 economic downturn were regained. In 2021, clean energy jobs grew almost 40 percent faster than the overall economy. More Midwesterners worked in clean energy than the number of lawyers, accountants and auditors, web developers, and real estate agents in the region combined.
The biggest sector of the Midwest clean energy industry is energy efficiency, over 67 percent of the region’s clean energy workforce. The 479,626 energy efficiency workers in the Midwest manufacture ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, install efficient lighting, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and install advanced building materials in homes and commercial buildings.
As more automakers and their suppliers continued to shift to electric vehicles, the advanced transportation sector saw an increase of 24 percent in the Midwest.
The sector added 21,939 new jobs for a total of 112,591 workers. Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric-vehicle sector jo
MIDWEST HIGHLIGHTS
- Energy Efficiency – 479,626 jobs
- Clean Vehicles – 112,591 jobs
- Renewable Energy – 88,898 jobs
- Grid & Storage – 25,279 jobs
- Clean Fuels – 7,928 jobs
- ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 714,323 jobs
OTHER KEY FINDINGS
- Clean energy occupations accounted for 23% of all construction jobs and 4% of all
manufacturing jobs in the Midwest. - Small businesses drive Midwest’s clean energy sector – in 2021, 69% of Midwest’s clean
energy businesses employed fewer than 20 people. - 11% of Midwesterners employed in clean energy are veterans
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The complete report along with interactive breakdowns for all states is available at this link.