55% of energy sector jobs are in clean energy; 1 in 4 construction jobs 17,000 jobs lost since COVID-19, wiping out over 19% of industry’s workforce Clean energy paid a $25.40 median hourly wage in 2019; 11% higher than WA median, 32% higher than U.S. median Olympia, WA (November 24, 2020) – Led by strong […]
Primed to Lead Washington’s Economic RecoveryAt the onset of 2020, Washington’s clean energy economy was coming off another year of solid growth, further establishing itself as the backbone—and future—of the Evergreen State’s energy sector. With more than 85,000 clean energy workers, the state ranked 13th for clean energy employment. Illustrating the important role this sector plays in Washington’s economy, the clean energy industry accounts for more than 25% of all construction jobs in the state. Importantly, these jobs’ wages and benefits compare favorably to other industries; E2’s recent Clean Jobs, Better Jobs report shows that the median wage for Washington’s clean energy economy pays nearly 11% more than the state’s overall median wage.
But following five straight years of job growth, Washington’s clean energy economy has been derailed by the economic recession driven by COVID-19. state policymakers have a central role to play as well. Tremendous job creation can be delivered by staying the course on implementation of existing clean energy policy, prime among them Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act. To ensure continued recovery and economic development in the years to come, state lawmakers should adopt additional policies in 2021 to drive investment and job growth in the clean energy economy. These policy opportunities—including a clean fuels program, clean truck standards, a state-wide limit on carbon pollution, and carbon pricing—can drive strong investments in climate solutions across the state. If well-designed, these and other policies have the potential to leverage Washington’s clean energy economy as an engine for broader economic recovery. Through October, more than 17,000 clean energy workers—almost one-fifth of Washington’s clean energy workforce pre-COVID—remain out of work.
Clean Jobs Washington 2020 comes at a critical juncture in the state’s efforts to recover from the COVID-19 health and economic crises. With the Washington state Legislature set to reconvene in January, policymakers will have the opportunity to leverage clean energy as an engine for broader economy recovery by enacting policies to get clean energy back on its growth trajectory. Policies such as a clean fuels program, clean truck standards, a state-wide limit on carbon pollution, and carbon pricing can drive investments in climate solutions and bring robust economic growth across the state.
This report details the size, scope, and diversity of this core Washington state employment sector, the troubles it is currently facing due to the pandemic, and the promise that strategic policy direction and stimulus investments in clean energy hold to drive a durable and sustainable recovery for Washington’s economy. In addition to detailing sector-by-sector employment, Clean Jobs Washington 2020 also breaks down jobs at the city, county, legislative and congressional district levels. See more details here.
This report focuses solely on the energy sector of the economy and does not include jobs in retail trade, repair services, water or waste management, and indirect employment or induced employment.
The complete report is available for download at this link.
This report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for nearly 3.3 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both reports expand on data from the 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. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016.
If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs Washington 2019 or our other Clean Jobs America reports, visit e2.org/reports. You can also contact E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]). An FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.
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Energy Efficiency (EE)—the largest U.S. energy sector—can repower America’s economy as we work to overcome the economic effects of the pandemic. As lawmakers and policymakers seek to get America back to work after the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, every job matters. From 2015 to 2019, the energy efficiency sector became one of the biggest, fastest-growing, and most beneficial sectors for both our economy and our environment.
This report details the size of this important employment sector, the troubles it is facing due to COVID-19, and how focusing recovery policies on efficiency can help boost America’s economy— quickly and for the long run.
The 20210 Energy Efficiency Jobs in America report includes an 11-page national summary and individual factsheets for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that include more detailed findings including job totals for every congressional and legislative district, industry and technology breakdowns, and maps of every state’s top counties.
This annual report focuses solely on the energy sector of the economy. Jobs in retail trade, vehicle efficiency-related work, and the 4.2 million jobs related to efficient manufacturing processes are excluded from these numbers.
To download the national summary, click here or the report cover above.
For all 51 individual factsheets, visit https://ee.e4thefuture.org/ or .
For questions on this report, methodology, reported job numbers, or requests for specific additional data, email E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]). An FAQ for the report, including answers to questions on methodology, is available here.
If you are looking for additional insight into E4TheFuture and E2’s other research and publications on the energy economy, visit E4TheFuture’s Publications homepage or E2’s Reports homepage.
This report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for nearly 3.4 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both reports expand on data from the 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. E2 and E4TheFuture is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016.
View Report »28% of energy sector workers are in energy efficiency, 2X more than fossil fuels Entry-level wages in all sectors well exceed the national average 700,000 new jobs per year for 5 years could be created by $61 billion targeted stimulus WASHINGTON DC (November 19, 2020) – Energy efficiency — which led U.S. energy-sector job growth […]
Höhne added that Biden’s 2035 goal makes economic sense, in a country suffering from a coronavirus slowdown and where about half the states are already moving in a similar direction on renewable energy. “This is something that he can really drive forward. He has the … economic situation on his side — it’s simply cheaper […]
**This memo has been revised and is available here. The numbers presented in the original Nov. 12, 2020 memo are based on data issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Nov. 6, 2020. An update to that data was made by the BLS in the Feb. 5, 2021 Employment Situation report** 40+ states […]
**This memo has been revised and is available here. The numbers presented in the original Nov. 12, 2020 memo are based on data issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Nov. 6, 2020. An update to that data was made by the BLS in the Feb. 5, 2021 Employment Situation report**
23,800 jobs in clean energy were added in October, leaving 13% of the sector’s pre-COVID-19 workforce unemployed according to the latest analysis of federal unemployment filings prepared by BW Research for E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), E4TheFuture and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
Overall, October’s job gains represented a 0.8% increase in nationwide clean energy jobs and leaves more than 454,000 clean energy workers still out of work. At the current pace, it would take the industry over 18 months to reach pre-COVID employment levels and 23 months to meet the sector’s projected 2020 job growth before the pandemic.
While October represents the fifth straight month of job growth for the industry after three months of devastating job losses, three out of every four clean energy workers who lost their jobs at the beginning of the crisis remain out of work, according to the monthly report. The slow growth is consistent nationwide; 44 states saw below 1% growth in October, with 23 states and the District of Columbia adding fewer than 200 jobs each.
In 2018 and 2019, clean energy created about 190,000 new jobs nationwide. Before the coronavirus pandemic, employers projected that more than 175,000 jobs would be added in 2020, according to the 2020 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) employer survey. Before COVID-19, nearly 3.4 million Americans across all 50 states and the District of Columbia worked in clean energy occupations, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization, clean vehicles and fuels. That’s more people than work in real estate, banking or agriculture in the U.S., and three times the number of Americans that worked in fossil fuels, according to E2’s Clean Jobs America report.
| Sector | March | April | May | June | July | August | Sept. | Oct. | Total |
| Energy Efficiency | -103,298 | -309,584 | -18,880 | 71,786 | 6,836 | 8,116 | 8,354 | 16,806 | -319,864 |
| Renewables | -23,739 | -71,705 | -4,272 | 17,287 | 1,918 | 2,571 | 2,273 | 3,965 | -71,704 |
| Clean Vehicles | -11,399 | -35,070 | -2,059 | 10,335 | 896 | 2,182 | 965 | 1,615 | -32,536 |
| Grid & Storage | -6,517 | -19,666 | -1,166 | 4,561 | 428 | 482 | 510 | 1,042 | -20,326 |
| Clean Fuels | -2,186 | -10,390 | -657 | 2,351 | 296 | 205 | 378 | 409 | -9,594 |
| TOTAL | -147,139 | -446,416 | -27,035 | 106,320 | 10,373 | 13,556 | 12,479 | 23,838 | -454,024 |
| State | Total Losses | Percent of Clean Energy Workforce |
| California | 76,638 | 13.90% |
| Georgia | 26,540 | 30.70% |
| Florida | 24,000 | 14.30% |
| Michigan | 22,671 | 17.00% |
| Texas | 20,765 | 8.40% |
| North Carolina | 18,340 | 16.00% |
| Pennsylvania | 17,340 | 17.90% |
| Washington | 17,124 | 19.20% |
| Ohio | 14,774 | 12.70% |
| New York | 14,329 | 8.10% |
For a full breakdown of clean energy jobs losses in each state, download the full analysis 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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Prior to the pandemic, clean energy was one of the fastest growing industries in Michigan, supporting over 125,000 jobs. New analyses demonstrate we can return to this flourishing clean energy economy if policymakers take action beyond short-term emergency measures. … It’s not just a matter of forecasting future impacts. Climate action is already working for the people and […]
A new study reveals that jobs in the burgeoning renewable and clean energy sector can pay up to 25 percent more than the national median wage and are more likely to come with health insurance and retirement benefits. The Houston Chronicle summarizes results from a study of federal occupational wage and benefits data, specifically within the […]
Clean Jobs, Better Jobs, released last week by a coalition of clean energy groups, finds that clean energy jobs are more likely to come with better benefits than jobs across the rest of the private sector, and pay as well as or slightly better than fossil fuel jobs.
First-of-its-kind report shows clean energy jobs more likely to include health care, retirement benefits Median wages in solar, wind, grid modernization higher than jobs in coal, natural gas and petroleum fuels Findings support calls to power U.S. recovery with clean energy jobs WASHINGTON (October 22, 2020) – Clean energy jobs paid 25% more than the […]
BY THE NUMBERS: Clean energy jobs paid 25 percent more than the national median wage in 2019, according to new analysis Thursday from Environmental Entrepreneurs, the American Council on Renewable Energy, and the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. Workers in the sector earned a median hourly wage of $23.89 in 2019 compared with the national median wage of $19.14, […]