U.S. clean energy careers are booming—but you wouldn’t know it if you look at the monthly jobs report

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By George Sakellaris, Fortune. 

Excerpt: Clean energy currently employs 3.3 million Americans, or one in 50 workers nationwide, according to a report from E2. That’s more than the total number of nurses, cashiers, elementary and middle school teachers, and waiters or waitresses. Jobs in the renewable energy industry also grew by 10% from 2021 to 2023, faster than the growth rate for overall U.S. employment. However, if you’ve taken a look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) latest jobs report, you would be excused for not knowing about the massive opportunity and growth the clean energy sector represents. While we’ve seen a host of renewable energy and climate-friendly legislation come out of Washington over the last two years, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which have been widely and rightfully applauded, the monthly jobs report is one area of the federal government’s output that seems to be lagging. Although monthly jobs reports include some tangentially related industries, such as mining and logging, construction, and utilities, failing to highlight renewable energy as a standalone category is a missed opportunity, due to the outsized impact the field is having on our economy, as well as on the present and future of our everyday lives.... 

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