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Clean Jobs Midwest 2021

After Rough Year, Clean Energy Jobs on the Upswing in the Midwest

More than 677,900 Midwesterners worked in clean energy and clean vehicles at the end of 2020, making the sector a major – and promising – part of the region’s economy, according to this comprehensive analysis of employment data.

Like most of the economy, clean energy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn in 2020. According to this year’s Clean Jobs Midwest, 2020 was the first year-to-year decline since E2 and Clean Energy Trust began tracking Midwest clean energy jobs. At one point, more than 131,600 Midwest clean energy workers had filed for unemployment, but the sector surged back 10.7 percent in the second half of the year to recover more than half of the jobs initially lost. The final 2020 job numbers represent an 8.9 percent drop in the Midwest clean energy workforce from 2019, or 66,100 jobs. Last year’s job losses were a dramatic change of pace for the industry. Last year’s job losses were a dramatic change of pace for the industry. In the 3 years leading up to 2020, for example, clean energy jobs grew almost 4 times as fast as overall employment.

MIDWEST HIGHLIGHTS

• Energy Efficiency – 470,651 jobs
• Clean Vehicles – 90,652 jobs
• Renewable Energy – 84,881  jobs
• Grid & Storage – 24,209 jobs
• Clean Fuels – 7,525 jobs
• ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 677,918 jobs

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

The biggest sector of the Midwest’s clean energy industry is energy efficiency, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the region’s clean energy jobs. But as more automakers and their suppliers continue to shift to electric vehicles, the advanced transportation sector saw a job increase of 3 percent across the region, with growth in most states. The sector added nearly 3,000 new jobs for a total of more than 90,000 workers.

Among clean energy subsectors, wind power, hybrid cars, and electric vehicles were the region’s brightest spots. Wind energy jobs in the region grew by more than 4 percent to 37,800 workers and the number of hybrid vehicle manufacturing employees grew by 6 percent to 43,000 workers. Electric vehicle (EV) jobs grew by an even healthier 8.5 percent, and are poised for future growth with supportive policies and significant commitments to EVs by major regional employers such as Ford and GM.

Clean energy jobs are found in every corner of the region. While big cities like Chicago (81,707), Detroit (50,229), and Minneapolis (34,958) were some of the largest hubs for clean energy jobs, more than one in five — or more than 143,800 — jobs are in rural areas.

DOWNLOAD

The complete report along with interactive breakdowns for all states is available at this link.

The Midwest lost clean energy jobs in 2020, but there were signs of hope, new report says

The pandemic year of 2020 saw a sharp decline in clean energy jobs across the Midwest, the first year-to-year drop since the 2017 inception of annual clean energy jobs reports by the Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). At one point in 2020, more than 131,600 Midwest clean energy workers had filed for unemployment, […]

Report: Replacing Hazardous Lead Pipes Will Result in 560,000+ Job-Years; Drive $100B+ in Economic Activity

WASHINGTON, DC  – Replacing all of America’s lead service lines would create 56,000 jobs that will last at least 10 years (560,000 job-years) and inject about $104 billion into the nation’s economy, a new study from E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and the United Association of Union Plumbers & Pipefitters (UA) shows. Based on the Biden administration’s […]

Getting the Lead Out: Employment & Economic Impacts of Lead Service Line Replacement

Summary:

Based on the Biden administration’s plans to invest $45 billion to replace 100 percent of lead service lines in America, the findings from Getting the Lead Out: Employment & Economic Impacts from Replacing America’s Lead Service Lines, this report from E2 and the United Association of Union Plumbers & Pipefitters (UA) estimates that the $45 billion invested in this program will create and support 56,080 jobs annually for 10 years, or a total of 560,800 job-years. This annual estimate includes 26,900 direct jobs—construction workers, plumbers, pipefitters, heavy equipment operators—as a direct result of this activity. Another 13,600 jobs that last for 10 years are created throughout the value chain, and 13,800 jobs are created each year for 10 years as a result of workers spending their paycheck.

About 84 percent of all jobs created through this investment are in construction (52 percent), professional and business services (24 percent), and manufacturing industries (8 percent). Insofar as the bulk of these jobs involve high-skill construction occupations, the jobs created will provide good wages and training opportunities for local residents and promote economic benefits to affected communities.

This investment into cleaning up our nation’s water supply also would generate $38.3 billion in labor income, $11.7 billion in taxes, and $53.9 billion in additional value to the economy. That would represent a 120 percent return on investment.

In addition to the jobs created and value added to the economy from this activity, additional benefits like increased positive health outcomes would be generated. It has been estimated that an additional $22,000 of societal benefits are generated for every lead pipe replaced as a result of lower cardiovascular disease. Since in many areas lead service lines are more likely to exist in environmental justice communities, and since Black and Latino children have disproportionately high overall lead exposure, replacing these lead pipes will also greatly benefit low-income and minority households.

The scope of this work is massive and reaches every state. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that between 9.7 million to more than 12 million lead service lines are distributing water throughout our nation. About 700,000 or more of these service lines are found in Illinois, while Ohio, Michigan, New York, New Jersey Missouri and Wisconsin each contain more than 300,000 of the nation’s lead service lines; the top ten states total about 4 million.

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Findings

• 560,800 total job-years*
• $104 billion: total economic activity generated
• 10 million lead service lines that need to be replaced

^{* 56,080 jobs annually over ten years}

^{** Includes $38.3B in labor income, $11.7B in taxes and $53.9B in additional economic benefits}

Methodology

BW Research used IMPLAN to conduct the economic impact analysis, resulting in the jobs, value-added, labor income, and taxes data. IMPLAN is an input-output modeling software that tracks spending patterns through the economy and their resulting impacts on economic indicators. The cumulative effects of the initial investment are quantified, and the results are categorized into direct, indirect, and induced effects. To capture interstate flows, direct and indirect impacts are results of national-level multipliers, distributed across states using state-level modeling. Induced impacts are the results of state-level multipliers, so as not to overestimate the impacts of household spending. Workforce data such as occupational demographics and wages are derived from JobsEQ by Chmura. JobsEQ is a workforce data software that derives data from Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data, among other sources. Unionization rates are derived from unionstats.com.

• Direct Impacts show the initial change in the economy associated with the investment. For example, pipefitters installing new service pipes or engineers planning the replacement.
• Indirect Impacts include the supply chain responses as a result of the initial investment (i.e., water pipe manufacturers).
• Induced Impacts refer to household spending and are the result of workers who are responsible for the direct and indirect effects spending their wages (i.e., direct and indirect workers spend income on clothes, food, healthcare, etc.).
• Labor Income includes all forms of employment income, such as employee compensation (wages and benefits) and proprietor income (i.e. payments received by self-employed individuals and unincorporated business owners). Labor income is a component of value added.
• Value Added is defined as the total value of production after netting out intermediate goods. This is another term for GDP.

About this Report

This economic impact analysis was conducted by BW Research Partnership for E2 in partnership with the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters. It uses the Biden Administration’s stated goal of 100 percent removal of lead service lines (LSLs) from America’s drinking water systems, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) national survey of LSLs, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) estimated LSL replacement costs.

Special thanks to NRDC and BW Research. For a description of the methodology used in this report, please refer to the explanation on page in Appendix A.

Looking for More Info?

If you are looking for additional insight into Getting the Lead Out: Employment & Economic Impacts from Replacing America’s Lead Service Lines or E2’s other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports.

E2 Action Alert: Support The California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1395)

Please review this E2 action alert letter and add your e-signature by using the fields below and clicking the ADD YOUR SIGNATURE button. Note that your are signing on as an individual and not as a representative of your employer.

Deadline to sign on is Sunday, August 15, 2021

Press Briefing: New Jobs Report on Replacing America’s Lead Pipes

In March, The Biden administration announced plans to remove 100 percent of America’s nearly 10 million lead service lines (LSLs) through the American Jobs Plan. A new report, from the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA), will detail the employment and economic gains if […]

Sign E2 Alert to Congress Urging Passage of American Jobs Plan

RGGI Approval the “Right Choice” for NC’s Economy, Environment

Raleigh  – North Carolina’s Environmental Management Commission (EMC) today approved a petition for the state to begin the rulemaking process to join the 11-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The multi-state program curbs carbon emissions from power plants by placing a declining cap on CO2 emissions from the states’ electric power generation sector and reinvests […]

Solar power, federal infrastructure funding and Colorado’s renewable-energy future

Colorado’s clean energy industry employed 58,182 at the end of 2020, according to a survey by E2, or Environmental Entrepreneurs, a national industry group. Employment dropped nearly 7% during the pandemic, but rebounded 6% from June to December last year.

New legislation sets the table to grow cleantech industry in the Grand Valley

The Grand Valley Cleantech Business Coalition (CBC), with help from the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, Grand Junction Economic Partnership, Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, and E2-Environmental Entrepreneurs has doggedly followed the proceedings to identify bills that could bring immediate economic benefits to our region by stimulating its burgeoning Cleantech Industry.

EVs Are Not Only Great For The Environment, They Also Create Jobs

The 2021 Clean Jobs America’s Stats On EVs and Clean Energy Jobs According to the 2021 Clean Jobs Report, which looked at the previous year (2020), clean vehicle manufacturing jobs defied the overall energy sector job loss patterns and grew by nearly 3%. This was due to automakers shifting to cleaner and more efficient electric cars, […]

Equity & Workforce Development in the Clean Economy

Please join E2 for a national webinar discussion on access to clean energy job training. Before the pandemic, clean energy jobs were one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and will be a critical piece of how we build back better. But how do we ensure that clean energy employment opportunities are equitable? […]