Wednesday 8 February 2017

US solar jobs up 25% last year

One out of every 50 new jobs in the US was in the solar industry last year.

According to the new national Solar Jobs Census 2016, the American solar workforce grew at a historic pace, with employment growth outpacing the overall economy by 17 times.

It increased by more than 51,000 jobs - a total of 260,077 solar workers, The Solar Foundation states.

The workforce grew by 25%, the largest annual growth percentage since the census was released in 2010, with 44 out of 50 states seeing the increasing.

That was due to a “rapid decrease in the cost of solar panels and unprecedented consumer demand for solar installations”.

The job growth took place in all sectors, including a 26% growth in manufacturing companies to more than 38,000 jobs nationwide. Installation jobs rose by 14%, project development by 53% while sales and distribution jobs increased by 32%.

Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of The Solar Foundation said: “With a near tripling of solar jobs since 2010, the solar industry is an American success story that has created hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs.

“It’s clear that solar energy is a low-cost, reliable, super abundant American energy source that is driving economic growth, strengthening businesses and making our cities smarter and more resilient.”