Green Jobs Grew California’s Economy Most, Study Shows

January 10th, 2011 by Susan Kraemer

From 1995 to 2008, during a period of average total job growth of 13% in California, the green job sector jumped an astounding 36%!

(That is a spread of 23% better than the average growth at that time).

Green jobs were the only jobs growing faster than 13%. What that means is that the rest of the economy was doing much worse than 13% growth, in order for that to be the average, together with 23% growth in green jobs.

What’s more, both in good times and in bad, it was green jobs that were the driver of growth. Even as the recession started – when there was a slight drop in total jobs of 1% between 2007 and 2008 – green jobs still grew 5% in that time, or 6% better performance.

Whether it is 23% better in good times or 6% better than the average, that is an astounding difference, and it sends a clear message to anyone able to read data. When the economy picks up, it will clearly be the green job engine driving it. If the economy remains slow, the green energy sector is the only positive spark.

Among green jobs, most were in these four areas:
Energy generation
Energy efficiency
Water technologies
Environmental services
Most of the growth came in green transportation

In energy generation, solar provided 66% of the sector, growing 63%, but employment grew in every form of green energy in the state, from wind, and geothermal to ocean energy. Industrial production to support green energy grew, as well as the related consulting services needed.

Energy efficiency grew fastest in new tech green lighting products manufacturing start-ups and machinery to make them more efficient, gaining faster, relatively, than efficiency consulting jobs, while both expanded.

Among water technologies, developing cleanup technologies grew 68%, and conservation jobs grew 3.5 times. (Water is also an energy issue for California, because we use 20% of our energy just moving water around the state)

Environmental consulting brings 70% of the jobs in environmental services, and that has increased since 1995. Environmental safety and remediation jobs grew faster (now 10%) than jobs in pollution monitoring and controls.

But the biggest individual jump in all green jobs came in green transportation, which grew a startling 152%, and of that percentage; alternative fuel transport grew from a 40% share to a 48% share.

Taken all together, it is now green jobs that grow California’s economy, with 6% and 23% more growth than the economy as a whole. And California has the eighth largest economy in the world.

Look at these numbers and tell me how it is that California’s green energy legislation has been a “a job-killing agenda” that is bad for business in the state. The evidence simply does not back up such claims. Quite the opposite.

Full study: Next 10 (PDF)
Image: Oryzatech

SusanKraemer@Twitter

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Tags: progressive legislation

About the Author

Susan Kraemer writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today, PV-Insider , SmartGridUpdate, and GreenProphet. She has also been published at Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times. Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.

http://juliekinnear.com Julie K.

This trend will come up on many places sooner or later. That’s simple consequence because they don’t depend on fossil fuels. People can recognise where the biggest opportunities to do a business are. It’s funny that this is happening right in California, the place with huge oil reserves… Probably that is why they have to face such bureaucracy…
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Bp

This reminds me of the reports Big Brother gave in 1984, “Choclate rations have increased 21% from the previous year!”. What a joke.
- http://wvoutpost.com WV Treehugger
  
  What the heck are you talking about? Did you mean Chocolate? If so what the Heck does chocolate have to do with green jobs?
  
  Oh I know this isn’t Faux so anything reported on here or any other media outlet is fake info. I’m sorry,I forgot thats how it works these days.
  Please forgive me.
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