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.
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, […]
Wages for renewable and other low-carbon energy jobs also are inching above the wages paid for some traditional energy jobs in the coal, natural gas and petroleum-based fuels industries. The study found that those fossil fuel jobs paid an average of $24.37 an hour last year compared with wind and solar jobs that pay $24.85 […]
Clean energy jobs pay better than the typical U.S. job, up to 25% more or some $2-$5 more per hour, according to recent research from Brookings and an new report commissioned by a group of clean energy organizations.
E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and Ceres invite you to a virtual panel discussion to learn about the exciting development of Nevada’s new Clean Cars rulemaking. In June, Governor Sisolak announced the Clean Cars Nevada initiative, which will accelerate the deployment of cleaner cars on Nevada’s roads. As part of this initiative, the state began a process to adopt the low […]
WASHINGTON – The U.S House is poised to pass the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, which includes the potential for funding increases to important energy efficiency programs; solar energy development for low-income communities; research in energy storage and provisions to address environmental justice issues. It also includes a phase-out of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a greenhouse […]
SACRAMENTO – Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, setting the path for more electric and other cleaner vehicles in California. Following is a statement from Bob Keefe, executive director of the national nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs): “This is good news for […]
PA was home to 11th most clean energy jobs before COVID-19 Jobs in renewables grew 11.8% from 2017-2019 as natural gas employment dropped 10% 18,000 jobs lost since COVID-19, wiping out 19% of industry’s workforce Pittsburgh (September 23, 2020) – Led by strong growth in solar energy, grid modernization, and energy efficiency, Pennsylvania added more […]
Climate change is the most significant global threat we face today. It also represents an unprecedented opportunity to build a clean economy by electrifying and decarbonizing our world, equitably and profitably. Momentum is building as businesses and governments transform their organizations to be more efficient and resilient. The VERGE 20 online event is the leading […]
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 […]
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]).
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