Action comes as E2 also launches $300,000 ad campaign highlighting clean energy job losses Washington, DC (June 22, 2020) – As Congress considers a major infrastructure bill and ways to restart the U.S. economy, more than 580 business leaders from across the country urged lawmakers in Washington to ensure clean energy is prioritized in forthcoming […]
Statement from E2 Mountain West Advocate Susan Nedell CARSON CITY (June 22, 2020) – Governor Steve Sisolak today announced Nevada will begin a low-emission (LEV) and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) rulemaking process. If implemented, Nevada would become the 14th state, not including the District of Columbia, to adopt Clean Cars Standards. Nevada has already joined nearly […]
Governor Steve Sisolak announced Nevada will consider adopting new standards requiring a higher percentage of vehicles sold in-state be electric. “Its really looking to the future; electric vehicles coming, spur it on, bring it a lot of benefits to all people whether or not you decide to buy an electric vehicle,” said Susan Nedell, of […]
The U.S. clean energy sector has lost more than 620,000 jobs, or 18% of its work force, as stay-at-home orders and a weakened economy have slowed demand for solar panels and energy-efficient systems and curbed production of electric vehicles and clean fuels, a report published on Monday showed. The industry lost 27,000 jobs in May, […]
620,500 clean energy workers jobless since COVID-19 hit CA, FL, GA, TX, WA, MI among hardest-hit states Report comes as Congress debates economic stimulus; runs contrary to findings of flawed Bureau of Labor Statistics report WASHINGTON, DC (June 15, 2020) – As Congress this week begins debating economic stimulus support for the energy industry, a […]
Clean Energy Unemployment Claims in COVID-19 Aftermath, May 2020More than 620,000 U.S. clean clean energy workers have lost their jobs since March after 27,000 new workers filed unemployment claims in May, according to the latest analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2, E4TheFuture, and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
The analysis of Department of Labor data found that 620,590 workers in clean energy occupations, representing 18.5% of the industry’s workforce, filed for unemployment benefits in March, April, and May. The number of jobs lost is more than double the number of clean energy jobs created since 2017.
While the speed at which clean energy jobs are being lost declined in May, there are increasing concerns about the number of energy-related jobs that are being supported by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The majority of clean energy firms in the U.S. are small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Meanwhile, the construction sector (the largest segment of the clean energy economy) is the largest recipient of PPP loans, at more than 13 percent. The expiration of the employment window of PPP may result in a fresh round of layoffs in clean energy if there is no further intervention.
The continued job losses in May and forthcoming PPP expiration indicates it will be very tough for the clean energy sector to return to its economy-leading jobs growth without significant intervention from Congress and state governments. Given the size of the clean energy industry (nearly 3.4 million jobs in every state, pre-COVID-19) that could cast a pall over the nation’s broader economic recovery.
Before March, clean energy had been one of the U.S. economy’s biggest and fastest-growing employment sectors, growing 10.4% since 2015 to 3.4 million jobs at the end of 2019. That made clean energy by far the biggest employer of workers in all energy occupations, employing nearly three times as many people as the fossil fuel industry.
| Sector | March Claims (adj) | April Claims (adj) | May Claims | Total |
| Energy Efficiency | 103,298 | 309,584 | 18,880 | 431,762 |
| Renewables | 23,739 | 71,705 | 4,272 | 99,717 |
| Clean Vehicles | 11,399 | 35,070 | 2,059 | 48,528 |
| Grid & Storage | 6,517 | 19,666 | 1,166 | 27,349 |
| Clean Fuels | 2,186 | 10,390 | 657 | 13,233 |
| TOTAL | 147,139 | 446,416 | 27,035 | 620,590 |
| State | March Claims (adj) | April Claims (adj) | May Claims | Total Claims |
| US TOTAL | 147,139 | 446,416 | 27,035 | 620,590 |
| California | 27,583 | 77,815 | 4,313 | 109,712 |
| Texas | 5,965 | 25,170 | 1,709 | 32,844 |
| Florida | 3,963 | 25,949 | 2,563 | 32,475 |
| Michigan | 7,867 | 22,245 | 1,012 | 31,124 |
| Georgia | 1,909 | 25,282 | 1,741 | 28,932 |
| North Carolina | 9,124 | 17,138 | 955 | 27,217 |
| Pennsylvania | 8,283 | 12,780 | 571 | 21,634 |
| Washington | 5,646 | 14,433 | 1,163 | 21,242 |
| New York | 6,006 | 13,868 | 848 | 20,722 |
| Ohio | 6,929 | 12,879 | 612 | 20,420 |
For a full breakdown of clean energy jobs losses in each state, see the full analysis here.
The complete report is available for download at this link.
A live press conference was held announcing the report’s findings on June 15, featuring:
To download and listen to the one-hour press conference, click here.
The analysis expands on data from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), using data collected and analyzed by the BW Research Partnership. The report was released in March 2020 and is available at www.usenergyjobs.org. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016 and subsequently abandoned under the Trump administration.
If you are looking for additional insight into this report or E2’s more than a dozen other annual clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports. You can also contact E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]).
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