Before the coronavirus pandemic arrived this year, clean energy was one of fastest-growing sectors in the
Just 3,200 jobs returned to the clean energy sector in July,
That 0.1% employment growth has left more than 500,000 workers in fields including energy efficiency, solar and wind energy and clean vehicles without a job, an industry-sponsored analysis by the
The last few months have seen a major reversal of fortune for a sector that grew 70% faster than the entire economy between 2015 and 2019 and had been employing three times as many workers as real estate, banking or agriculture.
At July's growth rate, industry leaders say, it will take 15 years to replace the jobs that were wiped away by the pandemic.
The slow rebound can be blamed, they add, on a slate of pandemic-related restrictions and consequences that have combined to affect the industry.
"Out of the 3.2 million people who work in the clean energy field -- or did up until this year -- the vast majority are in the energy efficiency field,"
"Those are people who go into buildings and do everything from installing insulation in the walls and ceilings to swapping out incandescent lighting for LED lighting.
"When you have a situation where buildings are suddenly off-limits, whether they're skyscrapers in
The sudden idling in the industry has brought into focus impressive growth it has experienced in recent years. By late 2018, more than 2.3 million Americans were working the field, and the growth rate was more than 5%, according to last year's
In July, however, just 2,100 energy efficiency jobs in
Another reason for the slow rebound is a marked decline in new solar energy panels -- the bread and butter of the solar industry.
Large utility-scale solar and wind power installations -- like a
"People aren't very interested in having solar workers come to their houses ... and having construction workers come in at a time of COVID and quarantines," Keefe said.
Nearly 15% of workers in the renewable electric power sector were still unemployed in July -- or about 82,000 workers.
Industry backers have called for
Under the proposal, the lion's share of the funding, about
Like clean energy, the oil and gas industries were also sacked by COVID-19 but they have recovered more quickly, partly due to government aid. File Photo by Akiyoko/Shutterstock
Jobs in the fossil fuels industry also have been sacked by COVID-19, but so far have returned at a quicker pace.
The oil and gas industry lost an estimated 118,000 jobs -- 15% of its
The database, which tracks energy funding commitments among
Meanwhile, less than
"These new jobs primarily fall in industries unrelated to clean energy, such as government, food and accommodation and education and health services," the
"Weekly unemployment claims continue at an historic pace. The most recent week's claims data...showed a slight decline in initial jobless claims, but is still at a level more than 50% higher than any week in our history prior to March.
"At the same time, the long-term unemployment rate -- defined as 27 weeks of consecutive unemployment -- has risen sharply since March."
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