Shaheen Applauds DOE Report Finding Clean Energy Jobs Were Created, Energy Economy Grew in Every State in 2023
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) applauded the clean energy jobs growth highlighted in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), a comprehensive study designed to track and understand employment trends across the energy sector. The 2024 USEER shows jobs in clean energy grew by 4.2 percent in 2023—more than twice as much as the job growth rate in the overall economy. The energy efficiency sector supported almost 2.3 million jobs in 2023, adding nearly 75,000 positions from the year before—the most of any energy sector. The growth in economic opportunity in the energy sector is thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Shaheen negotiated and the Inflation Reduction Act, which she supported. Shaheen has led on efforts to collect data and publish this annual report to help guide policy on energy and workforce development.
“The Granite State and the entire nation are feeling the effects of our clean energy economic growth. Thanks to the infrastructure and energy laws, we’re making vital investments in the future of our economy and our planet—creating jobs and boosting the economy all while strengthening our ability to combat the climate crisis,” said Shaheen. “This new data from the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report shows a strong increase in energy jobs, and as investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act keep flowing to our communities, I expect the growth to continue.”
According to the new report, New Hampshire had 30,879 energy workers statewide in 2023. Of these energy jobs, 11,628 are in energy efficiency; 6,086 in electric power generation; 1,374 in fuels; 3,490 in transmission, distribution and storage; and 8,301 in motor vehicles. From 2022 to 2023, energy jobs in the state increased 758 jobs or 2.5 percent. The energy sector in New Hampshire represents 4.6 percent of total state employment.
USEER is a summary of national and state-level employment, workforce, industry, occupation, unionization, demographic and hiring information in key energy technology groups: Electricity Production and Generation; Transmission, Distribution, and Storage; Fuels; Energy Efficiency; and Motor Vehicles and Component Parts. The USEER began in 2016 to better track and understand employment within key energy sectors that have been difficult to impossible to follow using other publicly available data sources. The study combines surveys of businesses with public labor data to produce estimates of employment and workforce characteristics. When the prior Administration declined to administer the USEER, Shaheen worked with bipartisan colleagues to introduce the Promoting American Energy Jobs Act to restore DOE’s role in collecting data and releasing this annual report to better inform lawmakers working on policy to grow the clean energy sector. Shaheen included this provision in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Senator Shaheen was a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a $550 billion investment in our nation’s core infrastructure priorities – including roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, the electric grid, water systems and broadband. Shaheen has long worked to secure federal investments in clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives. In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Shaheen successfully included key provisions of her energy efficiency bill, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. Shaheen was also a key supporter of the Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions for clean energy and climate investments in New Hampshire.
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