The Energy Department announced on Wednesday that unionization in the clean energy sector has overtaken that of the broader energy business for the first time and that jobs in the sector rose at a rate that was more than twice as fast as the nation’s overall employment growth in 2023.
According to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report, the number of jobs in clean energy sectors, which include nuclear, solar, wind, and battery storage, increased by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2%, in 2022 compared to 3.9% in 2022.
In 2023, the pace exceeded the 2% national average for job growth in the United States.
Laptops 1000Compared to the 11% rate in the energy industry as a whole, unionization rates in the renewable energy sector reached 12.4%.
According to the department, the increase in the utility and construction sectors as well as the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 were the main drivers of this.
Head of Energy Jobs at the Energy Department Betony Jones told reporters over the phone that the construction jobs in clean energy, spurred by the legislation and investments from the private sector, “is expected to continue for decades to build out the clean energy infrastructure that we need.
“There is continuity of such job so that workers can build a career in that industry, even though unionized members “might move from project to project,” the speaker stated.
More than 18,000 new jobs were added in the rooftop solar and utility-scale businesses, which saw a 5.3% increase in employment.
Due to high financing rates and the state’s reduction of net metre rates, which permit customers to be credited for the excess power their rooftop solar panels generate, the solar installation business in California, the most populous state in the union, claims to have lost almost 17,000 jobs.
There were several new occupations in fossil fuels. The workforce in natural gas increased by over 77,000, or 13.3%, while employment in petroleum decreased by over 44,000, or 6%.
As electricity generation continues to shift from coal to gas, wind, and solar, the number of coal jobs declined by around 8,500, or 5.3%.
Reporters were informed by White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi that the report demonstrated the administration’s dedication to pursuing energy and climate security.
With an average workforce share of 73% male in 2023, the energy sector continued to have a mostly male labor force compared to the national average of 53% male workers in the same year the previous year.
According to the research, women made up around half of the energy positions added in 2022 but only 17% of the jobs added in 2023.
