United States. National business groups representing the range and breadth of clean energy companies in the U.S. applauded government statistics showing that their industries support more than 3 million jobs in this country – equal to retail store employment across the country and twice as many jobs involved in building construction.
This is based on 2016 data recently released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in its second annual "United States Energy and Jobs" report.
The DOE does not offer a definition of "clean energy," and trade associations representing different parts of the industry have their own ways of defining what it stands for. However, all groups agree that, together, these jobs total more than 3 million nationwide.
The groups made the announcement on the same day they organized a national social media campaign, encouraging businesses and workers to share their employment stories. The purpose of the social media event was to draw attention to these growing industries, which offer well-paying jobs, from equipment installation and maintenance to sales and information technology, many of which cannot be automated or moved overseas.
According to the DOE report, the clean energy sector supported more than 3 million U.S. jobs in 2016, including:
- About 2.2 million workers make buildings, appliances and other products more energy efficient, saving money for families and businesses.
- More than 600,000 workers involved in clean energy generation, including biomass, biogas, fuel cells, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas, solar, energy waste and wind.
- 100,000 workers in advanced grid technologies, including energy storage, and another 100,000 workers in biofuels.
- In addition, advanced transportation, including hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles, supports 200,000 more jobs.
