Energy, Energy Efficiency Sectors Employ 6.8 Million Workers

The U.S. energy and energy efficiency sectors currently employ 6.8 million workers, and added 120,300 new jobs in 2019, more than 7% of all newly created jobs nationwide.

So says the 2020 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) published March 23 by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO). This is the fifth annual in-depth survey of the U.S. labor force and skill trends in five energy sectors across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The USEER tracks employment trends in fuels; electric power generation; transmission, distribution, and storage; energy efficiency; and motor vehicles. EFI, a think tank led by Ernest J. Moniz, who is a former U.S. secretary of energy, and NASEO, which represents the 56 governor-designated state and territory energy officials, have produced the USEER since 2018. The U.S. Department of Energy produced the first two editions.

“Since we started collecting this data in 2015, these five critical sectors of the economy have produced jobs at double the rate of the economy as a whole,” said Moniz. “We are now producing more energy, more cheaply than ever before and are using it more efficiently. Energy investment is a winning formula to respond to any recession.”

“As the energy industry experiences continual change, the USEER puts a spotlight on markets, technologies, and occupations that offer opportunities for higher wages and revenue growth,” added David Terry, executive director of NASEO. “For the governors’ energy directors and their staff, it enables data-driven, impactful policymaking and program design with wide ranging benefits, including accelerating job creation as our economy faces unprecedented challenges, promoting energy security, and prioritizing climate change and environmental sustainability.”

“NASEO and EFI have been working collaboratively on this important project for the last three years,” said David Foster, the author of the USEER. “We know that this critical labor force data will provide valuable guidance on how to use America’s energy resources to jumpstart our economy.”

The USEER is based on supplemental surveys of approximately 30,000 employers that enriches the employment data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Quarterly Census on Employment and Wages. The data was collected by BW Research Partnership, a research consultancy that has conducted employer surveys for all five editions of the USEER.

The full USEER, Executive Summary, State Fact Sheets, and a recorded webinar with key takeaways from the report will be available for download at USenergyjobs.org.

SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, March 26, 2020. Subscribe to receive the latest posted and spot prices from all major terminals and refineries around the U.S., featuring a center spread of posted prices that includes hundreds of postings completely updated each week, market analysis, insightful commentary and more.