On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published the 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), an annual study that summarizes national and state-level energy employment trends across different occupations, sectors, and technologies. The report uses employer surveys as well as public labor data to estimate energy employment statistics and workforce characteristics, such as demographic information and unionization rates, across five key energy technology sectors: Electricity Production and Generation; Transmission, Distribution, and Storage; Fuels; Energy Efficiency; and Motor Vehicles and Component Parts.
The results of the 2023 USEER indicate continued growth in energy jobs nationally, with nearly 300,000 jobs added in 2022, an increase of 3.8%. Over 40% of the new energy jobs were clean energy jobs, which grew 3.9% from 2021 to 2022, faster than overall U.S. employment growth in 2022 (+3.1%). In particular, jobs in battery electric vehicles and offshore wind grew rapidly from 2021 to 2022, increasing by 27% and 20%, respectively. Clean energy jobs also grew across every state and the District of Columbia, with the highest number of clean energy jobs added in California (13,000), West Virginia (7,000), and Texas (5,100).
While non-white workers were underrepresented in the U.S. energy workforce in 2022, the percentage of female energy workers increased 7.8%, with women making up over half of the new energy jobs added in 2022. Unionized workers represented 11% of the energy workforce, compared to 7% on average across the private sector. The report also found that union employers reported lower difficulty hiring workers compared to non-union firms and were twice as likely to offer diversity and inclusion trainings.
To learn more about the 2023 USEER and access the full report, executive summary, public dataset, and individual state reports, click here.