DOE Report Shows Clean Energy Jobs Grew at More Than Twice the Rate of Overall U.S. Employment
Annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) Finds Historic High Unionization in Clean Energy Sector, Growth in Clean Energy Jobs in Every State.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Spurred by the Biden-Harris Administration’s record investments in climate, clean energy, and manufacturing, clean energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs in 2023, accounting for more than half of new energy sector jobs and growing at a rate more than twice as large as that for the rest of the energy sector and the U.S. economy overall.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), a comprehensive study designed to track and understand employment trends across the energy sector. As the private sector continues to announce major investments in American-made energy spurred by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the 2024 USEER shows that the energy workforce overall added over 250,000 jobs in 2023; 56% of those were in clean energy.
For the first time ever unionization rates in clean energy, at 12.4%, surpassed the average rate in the energy sector of 11%, driven by rapid growth in unionized construction and utility industries. The sectors experiencing significant growth include zero-emission vehicle and renewable energy, as well as transmission, distribution, and storage – sectors crucial to achieving the Administration’s goal to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035 and delivering cheaper, more resilient energy to every community.
“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.”
This year’s report reflects a record number of survey responses from 42,000 business nationwide.
Key Takeaways
“Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's historic investments, clean energy jobs are booming in every single state. With union density in clean energy at record highs, it’s clear we can create good jobs and advance a cleaner economy at the same time. And as the report shows, union labor makes a difference; employers report that working with unions has made it easier for them to find the skilled workers they need and hire a diverse workforce. We look forward to continuing to partner with Vice President Harris and the Department of Energy to ensure that clean energy jobs are good union jobs,” said AFL-CIO President, Liz Shuler.
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Additional Highlights of the 2024 USEER include:
State data show:
Methodology
The USEER began in 2016 to better track and understand employment within key energy sectors that have been difficult or impossible to follow using other publicly available data sources. The report is based on a customized energy employer survey that augments data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to produce estimates of employment and workforce characteristics.
To learn more about the Department of Energy’s commitment to supporting high-quality energy jobs accessible to the diverse American workforce, visit DOE's Office of Energy Jobs
To read the full 2024 USEER National report, visit U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report (USEER)
For more on how President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda has spurred a new industrial revolution in clean energy, bringing manufacturing back to America and creating good-paying clean energy jobs—including union jobs—across the nation, visit: Building America's Clean Energy Future
US Renewables are booming!