The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), revealing a significant increase in clean energy employment, which grew by 142,000 jobs in 2023. This growth accounted for more than half of new energy sector jobs and outpaced the overall U.S. employment rate.
The report highlights that unionization rates in clean energy have reached a historic high of 12.4%, surpassing the average rate in the energy sector of 11%. The sectors experiencing notable growth include zero-emission vehicles, renewable energy, transmission, distribution, and storage.
“Our policies are working. We are now starting to see the job impacts of investments made through the infrastructure and inflation reduction laws—first in construction and as America builds more of these factories, we’ll see hundreds of thousands more,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The data clearly show that clean energy means jobs—good jobs, union jobs, and jobs retained—in communities across the country as we race to dominate the global clean energy economy.”
In 2023, clean energy was a primary driver for growth in the energy sector with job increases recorded in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Idaho had the fastest rate of clean energy job growth at 7.7%, followed by Texas at 6%, and New Mexico at 5.9%.
Both solar and wind sectors reported strong job growth—5.3% and 4.5% respectively—with projections indicating that the Inflation Reduction Act will double electricity generation from clean sources by 2030.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler commented on this trend: “Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's historic investments, clean energy jobs are booming in every single state...union labor makes a difference; employers report that working with unions has made it easier for them to find skilled workers.”
Additional highlights from USEER include:
- Employment increased across all five USEER categories: electric power generation; energy efficiency; fuels; motor vehicles; transmission, distribution, and storage.
- The energy efficiency sector supported nearly 2.3 million jobs in 2023.
- Veterans accounted for 9% of the U.S. energy workforce.
- Latino and Hispanic workers held nearly one-third of new energy jobs created in 2023.
- Utilities saw a rapid employment growth rate of 5% while construction added nearly 90,000 new jobs.
State-specific data showed Texas leading with over 969,801 total energy jobs followed by California with over half a million clean energy positions.
The USEER began tracking key employment trends within challenging-to-follow sectors since its inception in 2016 using customized surveys alongside Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
For further details on DOE’s commitment to supporting diverse American workforce opportunities or to read the full report visit DOE's Office of Energy Jobs or U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report (USEER).
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