U.S. Clean Energy Jobs Growth in 2023

By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry in 2023 grew at more than double the rate of the country’s overall jobs, and unionization in clean energy surpassed for the first time the rate in the wider energy industry, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.

Employment in clean energy businesses – including wind, solar, nuclear, and battery storage – rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% last year, up from a rise of 3.9% in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report. This rate was above the overall U.S. job growth rate of 2% in 2023. Overall energy jobs rose by 250,000, with 56% being in clean energy.

Unionization rates in clean energy hit 12.4%, which exceeds the 11% rate in the overall energy sector. This growth was driven by the construction and utility sectors expanding, following legislation passed in 2022 including the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the department noted.

Betony Jones, the Energy Department’s head of energy jobs, explained that construction jobs in clean energy, driven by the legislation and private-sector investment, are expected to continue for decades as the clean energy infrastructure is built. While unionized members might work on varied projects, continuity exists for them to develop careers in this industry.

Additionally, employment in both utility-scale and rooftop solar industries grew by 5.3%, adding more than 18,000 jobs. The solar installation sector in California, however, reported a loss of more than 17,000 jobs due to high interest rates and decreasing net meter rates that credit customers for excess power generated by rooftops.

Job updates in fossil fuels were mixed. The natural gas workforce surged by over 77,000 (13.3%), while petroleum jobs decreased by more than 44,000 (6%). Coal jobs also dwindled by nearly 8,500 (5.3%), as power generation transitioned from coal to gas, wind, and solar.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi remarked that the report demonstrates the administration’s commitment to energy and climate security. He warned that proposed bills by certain Republican lawmakers to repeal IRA programs could jeopardize not only jobs created in clean energy but also hamper approximately 28,000 additional manufacturing jobs linked to renewable energy and electricity-saving devices like heat pumps.

The energy sector remains predominantly male, with an average of 73% of the workforce in 2023, which parallels the previous year. Women represented about half of the energy jobs added in 2022 but made up only 17% of the jobs gained in 2023, according to the report.