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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House Democrats are ratcheting up pressure to insert financial help for clean energy into any upcoming bills to try to aid the pandemic-ravaged sector, setting up a clash with GOP lawmakers who’ve so far derided attempts to aid renewables as a furtive bid to implement the Green New Deal. Clean energy groups say the sector […]
The billing comes as solar and wind developers struggle to get new work off the ground, with factory shutdowns disrupting supply chains and the economic downturn drying up investment. Eddy emphasized that the bills from the BLM would bring “no real disruption” for existing solar and wind projects. The entire clean-energy sector has lost 594,000 jobs since the start […]
This week on The Energy Gang, we look at sky-high layoffs in clean energy. How do we get people back to work? A major analysis of unemployment in the clean energy sector is showing steep job losses in April. According to E2 and BW Research, nearly 600,000 jobs were shed in energy efficiency, manufacturing, electric […]
Before the arrival of COVID-19, nearly 3.4 million Americans worked in clean energy — three times the workforce of the U.S. fossil fuel industry, according to Environmental Entrepreneurs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected last year that the country’s two fastest growing jobs over the next decade would be solar panel installer and wind turbine technician.
Clean Energy Unemployment Claims in COVID-19 Aftermath, April 2020Nearly 600,000 U.S. clean clean energy workers have lost their jobs since March after 447,208 new workers filed unemployment claims in April, according to the latest analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2, E4TheFuture, and the American Council on Renewable Energy.
The analysis of Department of Labor data found that 594,347 workers in clean energy occupations, representing 17.8% of the industry’s workforce, filed for unemployment benefits in April and March. The number of jobs lost is more than double the number of clean energy jobs created since 2017. 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.
The job losses are across a wide variety of occupations, and in every state. Energy efficiency workers are losing their jobs after being shut out of homes and buildings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Solar and wind turbine companies are laying off workers as they’re unable to access panels and parts stranded in shut-down factories and as financing disappears. Factory workers are being let go as assembly lines for Energy Star appliances and electric and hybrid vehicles are ground to a halt.
| Sector | March Claims (adj*) | April Claims | Total Claims |
| Energy Efficiency | 103,298 | 310,188 | 413,486 |
| Renewables | 23,739 | 71,835 | 95,574 |
| Clean Vehicles | 11,339 | 35,101 | 46,501 |
| Grid & Storage | 6,517 | 19,685 | 26,202 |
| Clean Fuels | 2,186 | 10,398 | 12,584 |
| INDUSTRY TOTAL | 147,139 | 447,208 | 594,347 |
| State | March Claims (adj.*) | April Claims | Total Claims |
| US TOTAL | 147,139 | 447,208 | 594,347 |
| California | 27,583 | 77,860 | 105,443 |
| Texas | 5,965 | 25,227 | 31,192 |
| Michigan | 7,867 | 22,284 | 30,150 |
| Florida | 3,963 | 25,915 | 29,878 |
| Georgia | 1,909 | 25,251 | 27,161 |
| North Carolina | 9,124 | 17,293 | 26,417 |
| Pennsylvania | 8,283 | 12,810 | 21,093 |
| New York | 6,006 | 14,398 | 20,405 |
| Washington | 5,646 | 14,593 | 20,239 |
| Ohio | 6,929 | 12,869 | 19,798 |
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 May 13, 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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“It’s a lot worse than we thought, and it doesn’t look like it’s getting any better,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs. The memo from BW Research projects the clean energy sector could lose 850,000 jobs by the end of the second quarter, about 25% of the total U.S. clean energy workforce, if […]
Moreover, clean energy has been an American success story: employment in the sector has grown by 10.4% since 2015, according to Clean Jobs America 2020 — a report sponsored by E2 and researched by BW Research. In 2019, clean energy made up 40% of employment in the energy industry and 2.5% of the nation’s overall […]
“These aren’t left-wing coastal hippies,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs. “These are construction workers who get up every day and lace up their boots and pull on their gloves and go to work putting insulation in our attics.”
COVID-19 is overwhelming Colorado’s economy, and TABOR (Tax Payer Bill of Rights) is making it worse. TABOR is an amendment which was approved by voters in1992 and limits the amount of revenue the State of Colorado can retain and spend. It has prevented progress with environmental policy in the state. Transportation funding, carbon pricing, enforcing […]