106,300 clean energy workers returned to their jobs in June 514,200 clean energy workers remain jobless in wake of COVID-19 Troubling signs cloud clean energy sector’s outlook; stimulus needed now WASHINGTON – As the U.S. economy began to reopen in June, some employees returned to work in the clean energy sector, which had been reeling from […]
Clean energy advocates are calling for legislation to jump start the economy by supporting what was one of the Midwest’s largest and fastest growing jobs sectors before the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of 2019, more than 76,000 Wisconsin workers were employed in clean energy and energy efficiency jobs, which grew at more than twice […]
Job losses damper fast-growing sector that employed 537,000 Californians at end of 2019 1 in 5 Californians employed in January 2020 by clean energy now out of work Before COVID-19, 3% of overall employment statewide, and 30% of state construction workers, employed in clean energy Sacramento (June 25, 2020) – As Congress and state policymakers […]
Job losses damper fast-growing sector that employed 744,040 in the region at end of 2019 1 in 6 Midwesterners employed in January 2020 by clean energy now out of work Before COVID-19, clean energy jobs were growing almost 4 times faster than overall economy CHICAGO, IL – (June 25, 2020) – As Congress this week […]
Home to 744,000 Clean Energy JobsPrior 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.
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.
The complete report along with interactive breakdowns for all states is available 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 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.
View Report »Statement from E2 Mountain West Advocate Susan Nedell CARSON CITY (June 22, 2020) – Governor Steve Sisolak today announced Nevada will begin a low-emission (LEV) and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) rulemaking process. If implemented, Nevada would become the 14th state, not including the District of Columbia, to adopt Clean Cars Standards. Nevada has already joined nearly […]
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 […]
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.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all corners of the economy, and clean energy and clean economy businesses are no exception. Please join E2 to learn more about the just-passed CARES economic stimulus package, what it means to businesses and their and workers, and what E2 is doing to make sure the next economic stimulus package and other […]
In a release, Ian Hill, co-founder of Oregon-based SeQuential Biofuels and E2 Pacific Northwest member said Brown’s executive order represents a critical opportunity for Oregon’s economy and a commitment to action on behalf of Oregonians threatened by the fires, droughts, flooding, and other catastrophic impacts of escalating climate change. “The long-term health of our economy […]
Ian Hill is the co-founder of SeQuential Biofuels. The company works with restaurants to collect used cooking oil and turns it into low-carbon, clean-burning fuel. They also have a gas station in Eugene that sells biodiesel. Hill said he was hoping lawmakers in Salem would be able to work together to pass climate action but […]