Sustainable Solar Jobs Growing at Faster Rate Than Other Industries
The Solar Foundation (TSF), an independent nonprofit solar education and research organization, has released the full version of its third annual National Solar Jobs Census at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference. The census found that more than 8,500 installation jobs were created in the past year, and continued industry wide growth is expected in 2013.
In early November, TSF announced that the Census found that the U.S. solar industry now employs 119,016 Americans, a figure which represents the addition of 13,872 workers and a 13.2 percent employment growth rate over the previous year. Since 2010, employment in the U.S. solar industry has grown 27 percent, or eight times faster than the overall economy during the same period when employment grew by 3.2 percent.
The complete report analyzes employment in the subsectors that make up the solar industry. Installation remained the largest subsector in terms of employment and added the most new jobs. Installers now employ 57,177 Americans, a 17.5 percent increase over the revised 2011 figure. Sales and distribution jobs experienced a 23.1 percent increase, now employing 16,005 Americans.
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Antonio Pasolini is a Corporate Social Responsibility writer for Justmeans, Antonio Pasolini is a journalist based in Brazil who writes about alternative energy, green living and sustainability. He also edits Energyrefuge.com, a top web destination for news and comment on renewable energy and Elpis.org, a recycled paper bag/magazine distributed from health food stores in London, formerly his hometown for over a decade. He is also a happy herbivore.
