Washington, D.C. – The clean energy sector is experiencing a meaningful boom, adding 142,000 jobs in 2023. This growth, spurred by the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in climate, clean energy, and manufacturing, accounts for over half of all new energy sector jobs. The expansion rate is more than double that of the rest of the energy sector and the overall U.S. economy.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), a extensive study tracking employment trends across the energy sector. The report indicates that the energy workforce added over 250,000 jobs in 2023, with 56% in clean energy.

Unionization on the Rise

For the first time, unionization rates in clean energy (12.4%) have surpassed the average rate in the energy sector (11%). This is driven by rapid growth in unionized construction and utility industries. Sectors experiencing significant growth include zero-emission vehicles, renewable energy, and transmission, distribution, and storage – all crucial to achieving the Administration’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.

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.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm

Granholm added, 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.

Key Findings from the 2024 USEER

• Clean energy was the driving factor for growth in the energy sector, growing by 4.2%, more than twice the overall economy’s 2.0% job growth rate.
• Clean energy jobs grew 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 6.0%, and new Mexico at 5.9%.
• The solar and wind sectors reported strong job growth, jumping 5.3% and 4.5% respectively.
• The energy construction sector added nearly 90,000 energy jobs, growing 4.5%, almost double the economy-wide construction employment growth of 2.3%.
• An additional 28,000 jobs in 2023 were related to building new battery and solar module factories, ports for offshore wind, and warehouses to store and transport clean energy products.

Labor Outlook

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 simultaneously occurring. 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.
AFL-CIO President, Liz Shuler

Additional Highlights

• Employment increased across all five USEER energy technology categories: electric power generation; energy efficiency; fuels; motor vehicles; and transmission, distribution, and storage.
• The energy efficiency sector supported almost 2.3 million jobs in 2023, adding nearly 75,000 positions.
• Veterans accounted for 9% of the U.S. energy workforce, greater than their representation in the overall U.S.workforce.
• Latino and Hispanic workers held nearly one-third of the new energy jobs created in 2023, growing by 79,000 workers.
• The utilities sector saw the fastest employment growth of 5.0% in 2023, adding nearly 30,000 jobs.
• Clean energy technologies accounted for 79% of net new electric power generation employment, adding 28,086 jobs.
• Clean vehicle employment increased 11.4%, adding 24,826 jobs.

State-Level Data

• Texas (969,801),California (932,273),Michigan (401,720),Florida (351,934),and Ohio (333,110) have the greatest number of energy jobs in the United States.
• California (545,207), Texas (261,934), New York (177,202), Florida (172,115), and Illinois (130,473) have the greatest number of clean energy jobs.
• Alabama (9.6%), Utah (7.8%), and North Carolina (6.9%) had the fastest rate of energy job growth from 2022 to 2023.

Methodology

The USEER began in 2016 to better track and understand employment within key energy sectors. the report is based on a customized energy employer survey that augments data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Resources

To learn more about the Department of Energy’s commitment to supporting high-quality energy jobs, 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, visit: Building America’s Clean Energy Future.