Clear vitality jobs grew greater than 3 times sooner than the remainder of the U.S. financial system in 2024, including nearly 100,000 new jobs and bringing the entire variety of clear vitality employees in U.S. to three.56 million, in keeping with the tenth annual “Clean Jobs America” report launched as we speak by the nationwide, nonpartisan enterprise group E2.
Amid coverage uncertainty and an general slowing of job and financial progress in 2024, the expansion in clear vitality jobs dropped to its slowest tempo since 2020, including about 50,000 fewer jobs than in 2023.
Nonetheless, jobs in photo voltaic, wind, batteries, vitality effectivity, storage and grid and different clear vitality subsectors continued to develop sooner than the broader financial system, and make up an more and more bigger share of the general U.S. workforce. Greater than 7% of all new jobs added within the U.S. and 82% of all new vitality jobs added final yr have been in clear vitality occupations.
E2’s tenth annual “Clear Jobs America” report comes because the clear vitality trade is reeling from latest federal coverage selections to kill initiatives, revoke tax credit, cancel permits and add new regulatory crimson tape and authorized hurdles aimed toward hobbling photo voltaic, wind, electrical automobiles and different industries. These federal coverage assaults come even because the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the fastest-growing occupations in America are wind turbine service technicians and photo voltaic photovoltaic installers.
Although not mirrored within the 2024 information, latest coverage actions by Congress and the Trump administration have already resulted in main job losses within the trade, with extra anticipated to come back. Based on separate E2 research, since January 2025 corporations canceled greater than $22 billion deliberate clear vitality associated factories and different initiatives that have been anticipated to create 16,500 new jobs. Evaluation by different organizations estimate more than 830,000 jobs may very well be misplaced simply due to the vitality coverage rollbacks in President Trump’s One Huge Stunning Invoice Act, signed into legislation on July 4.
“What these numbers present is that this was one of many hottest and most promising job sectors within the nation on the finish of 2024,” stated Bob Keefe, E2’s govt director. “Now, clear vitality job progress is at critical threat — and with it, our general financial system,”
Based on E2’s report, clear vitality jobs now account for 42 p.c of all vitality jobs in America and a couple of.3 p.c of the general nationwide workforce. Extra folks now work in clear vitality associated occupations than work as nurses, cashiers, waiters and waitresses, or preschool, elementary and center college lecturers.
Greater than 520,000 jobs have now been added by the clear vitality and clear car sectors over the past 5 years, a rise of 17 p.c — far exceeding employment positive factors in fossil fuels, gasoline and diesel motor automobiles, and the general U.S. financial system.
Whereas the sector added the fewest jobs because the pandemic-fueled unemployment disaster, clear vitality nonetheless grew greater than 3 times sooner than the remainder of the U.S. workforce (2.8% vs. 0.8%) amid an economy-wide slowdown in hiring and rising coverage uncertainty. Over the past 5 years, clear vitality corporations have added jobs 60% sooner than the remainder of the financial system.
“Yearly, clear vitality jobs turn into extra intertwined and important to our general financial system,” stated Michael Timberlake, director of analysis and publications for E2. “These jobs are actually a significant anchor of America’s vitality workforce. The power of the U.S. job market and the way forward for our vitality financial system are actually inseparable from the expansion of fresh vitality.”
Over the previous 5 years, no area added extra clear vitality jobs and at a sooner price than the South — now residence to greater than 1 million clear vitality employees. From Texas to Virginia, Southern states added 41,000 clear vitality jobs in 2024. Western and Northeastern states added greater than 20,000 jobs respectively. The Midwest added greater than 13,000 jobs.
On the state degree, clear vitality continues to drive financial prosperity. Twenty-three states are residence to a minimum of 50,000 clear vitality jobs and simply eight states have extra employees employed by fossil fuels than clear vitality.
Seventeen states have seen their clear vitality workforces bounce a minimum of 20% within the final 5 years.
Information merchandise from E2
