One way or another, these types of jobs are coming into existence. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, California had 537,000 clean energy workers, according to an analysis by the advocacy group Environmental Entrepreneurs. And that number is certain to rise as the state targets 100% climate-friendly electricity and a carbon-neutral economy by mid-century.
Newly passed bill is type of policy California “needs to help its economic recovery” SACRAMENTO (September 1, 2020) – Late Monday night, the California legislature passed AB 841, a bill that swill streamline millions in investments to expand California’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and make improvements to school energy efficiency upgrades. Following is a […]
“Out of the 3.2 million people who work in the clean energy field — or did up until this year — the vast majority are in the energy efficiency field,” Bob Keefe, executive director of the non-partisan advocacy group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), told UPI.
The report shows that industry jobs have begun to recover already. The low point, the report says, hit in May when the jobs count in North Carolina was down more than 37,000 to about 85,500 workers. It had recovered to 91,340 jobs by the end of June. North Carolina’s July figures were a little better […]
Powering North Carolina’s Economy with Clean EnergyEntering 2020, North Carolina’s clean energy sector had grown for a fifth straight year since E2 began tracking U.S. clean energy employment, increasing to account for 52% of all energy sector employment in North Carolina. And, since North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) began tracking clean energy jobs in 2007, annual clean energy jobs have grown over 690%.
Totaling 112,720 jobs at the end of 2019, North Carolina has lost nearly 19% of its clean energy jobs since due to the COVID-19 economic crisis. More than 511,000 workers across the U.S. clean energy economy, including 21,200 in North Carolina, remain unemployed since the pandemic began in March. Before the crisis, clean energy jobs in North Carolina were growing nearly 50% faster than overall statewide employment.
This development means clean energy jobs are more critical than ever to North Carolina’s economy as the state has become a Southeast and national leader in clean energy jobs. In 2019, North Carolina trailed only Florida in total jobs in the region and ranked among among the top 10 states in the country for employment across a variety of clean energy workforce categories—including solar energy, energy efficiency, and grid modernization—including 9th for total overall clean energy jobs.
E2 and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association’s 2nd Clean Jobs North Carolina 2020 reports details the sheer size of this important employment sector, and how focusing on clean energy can help us build back our economy better and faster after COVID-19.
The complete report is available for download at this link.
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 2020and 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. Clean energy jobs have grown every year since the first report was released in 2016.
If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs North Carolina 2020 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.
Clean Jobs North Carolina 2020 is the 2nd statewide clean energy jobs report from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.
View Report »According to figures released today by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), 21,200 clean tech energy workers still remain unemployed — nearly 19 percent of the state’s clean energy workforce. In total, more than 511,000 clean energy workers across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, remain out of work since March. The […]
The report draws from the country’s Aug. 7 jobs report, which detailed a historically high pace for weekly unemployment claims and a sharp rise in both the long-term and permanent unemployment rates. These estimates come from BW Research’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for both June and July, as well as the […]
Clean Energy Unemployment Claims in COVID-19 Aftermath, July 2020
<< The July unemployment analysis was revised up to 10,400 on September 11, 2020 and is available here >>
The U.S. clean energy sector added just 3,200 jobs in July, signaling the sector’s surge of workers returning in June was short-lived, according to the latest analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2, E4TheFuture, and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
The 0.1% increase in jobs still leaves over half a million (511,075) clean energy workers out of work despite nationwide re-openings – about 15 percent of the sector’s workforce before the COVID-19 outbreak. While July represents the second straight month of job growth for the industry after three months of devastating job losses, fewer than 10 states saw 100-plus clean energy employees return to work and at the current pace it would take nearly 15 years for the U.S. clean energy sector to reach pre-COVID-19 employment levels.
The new analysis also does little to alleviate long-term concerns for the industry. In addition to continued high unemployment, casual or paused re-openings, and the exhaustion of many programs from earlier stimulus, long-term and permanent unemployment has risen sharply to more than 4.4 million as initial weekly unemployment claims continue at historic pace.
Only one out of every six clean energy jobs lost since March returned in June and July, and as federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds are exhausted and states are forced to close businesses again in the face of COVID-19’s resurgence, more layoffs could be imminent without congressional action.
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 | APRIL | MAY | JUNE | JULY | TOTAL |
| Energy Efficiency | -103,298 | -309,584 | -18,880 | 71,786 | 2,105 | -357,871 |
| Renewables | -23,739 | -71,705 | -4,272 | 17,287 | 591 | –81,840 |
| Clean Vehicles | -11,399 | -35,070 | -2,059 | 10,335 | 276 | -37,917 |
| Grid & Storage | -6,517 | -19,666 | -1,166 | 4,561 | 132 | -22,656 |
| Clean Fuels | -2,186 | -10,390 | -657 | 2,351 | 91 | -10,791 |
| INDUSTRY TOTAL | -147,139 | -446,416 | -27,035 | 106,320 | 3,195 | -511,075 |
| STATE | TOTAL CLAIMS | Percent of Pre-COVID19 Workforce Unemployed |
| California | 89,158 | 16.60% |
| Georgia | 27,316 | 32.60% |
| Florida | 26,521 | 16.00% |
| Texas | 24,659 | 10.20% |
| Michigan | 24,525 | 19.60% |
| North Carolina | 21,214 | 18.80% |
| Pennsylvania | 18,866 | 20.10% |
| Washington | 18,444 | 21.70% |
| New York | 17,239 | 10.80% |
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]).
"*" indicates required fields
Stagnant growth despite nationwide reopenings raises long-term concerns 511,100 clean energy workers remain jobless as COVID-19 crisis continues Without strong policy action, recovering lost jobs could take many years WASHINGTON (August 12, 2020) – Despite nationwide reopenings, job recovery in the U.S. clean energy sector slowed to a trickle in July. Only 3,200 clean energy […]
Please join Gov. Roy Cooper, E2’s new Southeast Chapter, fellow business leaders and our partners for a first-of-its-kind virtual NC Clean Economy Summit to discuss how together we can build back a better, cleaner, more equitable and more resilient economy. You’ll be among the first to learn about Clean Jobs North Carolina 2020 – the latest, most comprehensive […]
Prior to the pandemic, the U.S. clean energy sector was one of the bright spots for the U.S. economy, with a total workforce of 3.4 million employees in 2019, and the sector grew twice as fast as the overall U.S. economy since 2017. The sector rebounded slightly in June, but more than half a million […]