The U.S. energy industry experienced a significant boost in employment last year, outpacing overall job growth, primarily propelled by the clean energy sector, according to the Department of Energy's latest report released on Wednesday.
The U.S. Energy and Employment Report revealed that the clean energy sector, encompassing wind and solar power, nuclear energy, grid technologies, and battery storage, witnessed a growth rate of approximately 3.9%, resulting in the addition of 114,000 jobs.
Simultaneously, employment opportunities in the oil and gas fuels sector surged due to escalating global demand for liquefied natural gas amidst Russia's conflict in Ukraine and the recovery of demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jobs in natural gas fuels skyrocketed by 24.1%, creating 51,100 new positions, while petroleum fuel employment experienced a 12.5% increase, adding 58,100 jobs. Nonetheless, the workforce in the fuels sector, which stands at 1 million employees, remained approximately 117,100 positions below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, as reduced fuel demand negatively impacted drilling and fuel production companies.
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Overall, the energy industry generated nearly 300,000 jobs, surging to over 8.1 million positions. However, the growth rates for power transmission, distribution and storage, energy efficiency, and electric power generation were relatively slower compared to the average for the energy sector. The coal electric power generation sector experienced a decline of about 6,800 jobs, representing a decrease of around 9%.
Notably, the field of battery electric vehicles observed the most rapid growth among all energy technologies, with job opportunities increasing by almost 28,400 or 27%.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attributed these gains to the billions of dollars in incentives provided by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and the 2022 CHIPS Act. Furthermore, she emphasized that the energy projects stimulated by President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act would contribute to even more job creation.
Granholm expressed, “Most of those projects are still in the planning stages. That means hundreds of thousands of new jobs are already in the pipeline, with countless more to follow.”
Work relating to zero-emissions vehicles accounted for the addition of over 38,000 positions, marking a growth rate of nearly 21%. Renewable power sources such as wind and solar energy created approximately 22,300 jobs, constituting around 84% of all new electric power generation positions.
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According to the report, in 2022, approximately 11% of energy workers were either represented by a union or covered under a project labor or collective bargaining agreement. This figure reflects an increase from 7% in 2021 for the overall private sector. Furthermore, approximately 10% of energy jobs were unionized in 2021.
In terms of gender representation, the energy workforce predominantly consisted of males, with an average of 73%, surpassing the national workforce average of 53% male. However, the report highlighted that women accounted for roughly half of the 300,000 energy jobs added last year.
As the U.S. energy sector continues to evolve, the remarkable growth in clean energy jobs and the concerted efforts to address climate change indicate a promising path toward a more sustainable future for the nation's workforce and the energy industry as a whole.
