Posted: 10 Oct 2012 06:30 PM PDT
There were 3.1 million “green jobs” in the US as of November 2011. Green jobs are growing faster than overall job growth in the US. They pay well, and there’s an increasingly wide range of them accessible to Americans of every level of education and experience, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s “Counting up to green” analysis of the Labor Dept. Bureau of Labor Statistic’s (BLS) groundbreaking Green Jobs report, which was released Sept. 28.
BLS’ data and report follow on similar studies of green jobs — notably by the Brookings Institution and Pew Research Center – that indicate making the transition to a cleaner, greener, low-carbon US economy and society doesn’t necessarily entail a net loss in jobs — far from it. If the transition gathers enough momentum, it appears that more green jobs will be created faster than jobs in other sectors and activites are lost. Not only did green businesses and activities weather the last US banking systems crisis and recession better than others, green businesses and business activities are growing faster than the broad economy. Moreover, states where commerce and industry are greener have been growing faster.
The manufacturing sector accounted for the most green jobs in the US as of November 2011, according to BLS data, which carries substantial irony, as well as paradox, given that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the party as a whole are doing their best to squash what’s been one of the few persistent bright spots in terms of US employment and economic growth in recent years — the rapid development and growth of the US solar, wind, and broad renewable energy and clean technology sectors. That’s led to a revitalization of US manufacturing after decades of decline, job losses, and job exports.
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