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Clean Jobs Midwest 2020

Home to 744,000 Clean Energy Jobs

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, clean energy companies employed more than 744,000 Midwesterners and clean energy jobs were growing in nearly every state, according to the latest available data. Across the region in 2019, the industry added more than 7,500 new jobs. At the end of 2019, more people in the Midwest worked in clean energy than the combined workforce of real estate agents and brokers, computer programmers, web developers, and waiters and waitresses. However, according to a recent analysis of U.S. Department of Labor unemployment data, in just the first three months after the pandemic began more than 131,600 workers in clean energy-related companies lost their jobs.

MIDWEST HIGHLIGHTS

• Energy Efficiency – 534,567 jobs
• Renewable Energy – 87,307 jobs
• Grid & Storage – 26,251 jobs
• Clean Vehicles – 87,993 jobs
• Clean Fuels – 7,923 jobs
• ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 744,041 jobs

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

The Midwest’s largest clean energy employer was energy efficiency. The sector has been home to more than 70 percent of all the region’s clean energy jobs. Last year, the Midwest also saw job growth rate increases in clean fuels (2.9 percent), grid and storage (3.4 percent), and renewable energy generation (2.7 percent).

Clean energy jobs are found in every corner of the region. While big cities like Chicago (88,930 jobs), Detroit (55,470 jobs), and Minneapolis (38,920 jobs) were some of the largest hubs for clean energy jobs, more than one in five — or more than 158,000 — were at the end of 2019 located in rural areas.

Thousands of Midwestern companies hire clean energy workers every year. Before the crisis hit, these employers anticipated adding nearly 37,000 clean energy jobs in 2020 — a nearly 5 percent growth rate.

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

LOOKING FOR MORE INFO?

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 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. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016. 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 Midwest 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 California 2020

America’s Clean Energy Powerhouse in the Wake of COVID-19

After a fifth straight year of job growth since E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) began tracking U.S. clean energy employment, California’s clean energy economy is facing a torrent of job losses and work freezes so significant it could set the industry back years. What had been one of the nation’s fastest-growing job sectors over the last five years is now one of the fastest-shrinking in the wake of COVID-19-related shutdowns disrupting supply chains and building energy efficiency projects, halting new developments and emptying project pipelines, and slowing investments while wrecking financial outlooks.

Entering 2020, California’s clean energy economy had grown for five straight years since this annual report was first released with clean energy jobs growing to make up 3 percent of the state’s entire workforce.

E2’s Clean Jobs California 2020 details the sheer size of this important employment sector, the troubles it is currently facing due to COVID-19 and how focusing recovery policies on clean energy can get the Golden State’s economy humming again—quickly and for the long run.

INDUSTRY JOB TOPLINES | Q4 2019

• Energy Efficiency – 323,529 jobs
• Renewable Energy –142,957 jobs
  • Solar Energy – 124,817 jobs
  • Wind Energy – 2,520 jobs
• Clean Vehicles – 40,627 jobs
• Clean Storage – 17,397 jobs
• Grid Modernization – 6,625 jobs
• ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 536,919 jobs

DOWNLOAD

The complete report is available for download at this link.

Looking for More Info?

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 California 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.

PAST CLEAN JOBS AMERICA REPORTS

Clean Jobs America 2020 is the 3rd clean energy jobs report for California from E2. Previous reports can be accessed in the below links.

• Clean Jobs California 2019 
• Clean Jobs California 2018 

Report: Federal data ‘flawed,’ 620K clean energy jobs lost

Clean energy job losses began to level off in May, according to a new analysis, but industry advocates are pushing back against the Trump administration’s assurances that the nation is back on the road to recovery. The report from California-based BW Research Partnership Inc. found that clean energy sectors lost over 27,000 jobs in May, fewer than […]

580 Biz Leaders To Congress: Act Now On Clean Energy Stimulus

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 […]

580+ E2 Members Urge Stimulus Support for Clean Energy

U.S. clean energy sector loses 18% of jobs during pandemic -report

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, […]

27,000+ More Clean Energy Jobs Lost 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 & COVID-19 Crisis | May 2020 Unemployment Analysis

Clean Energy Unemployment Claims in COVID-19 Aftermath, May 2020

More 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.

By Industry Job Losses, May 2020

State With Most Job Losses, May 2020

For a full breakdown of clean energy jobs losses in each state, see the full analysis here.

Download

The complete report is available for download at this link.

Listen

A live press conference was held announcing the report’s findings on June 15, featuring:

• Bob Keefe, executive director, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2);
• Pat Stanton, director of policy, E4TheFuture;
• Gregory Wetstone, president & CEO, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE);
• Phil Jordan, vice-president and principal, BW Research;

To download and listen to the one-hour press conference, click here.

Looking for More Info?

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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Democrats prepare to push clean energy in recovery packages

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