Energy

DOE: Energy Jobs Increased 5 Percent in 2016

The energy and energy-efficiency sectors added 300,000 net new jobs in 2016, a 5 percent increase to 6.4 million, according to a Department of Energy report released Friday.

Those sectors’ expansion accounted for 14 percent of overall U.S. job growth for the year, the report said.

The solar industry saw significant job growth, expanding nationally from 300,192 jobs in 2015 to 373,807 in 2016, a 24.5 percent increase. Wind jobs grew from 77,088 to 101,738, a 32 percent increase.

The report details job growth in different sectors from the second quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. Electricity generation from fossil fuels — not including the mining and drilling necessary to get the fuel — was responsible for 151,000 jobs, up 11.1 percent from 135,898. Including mining and drilling jobs, coal, natural gas, and oil and petroleum accounted for slightly more than 1 million jobs.

Oil and petroleum employed 515,518 people, between jobs related to extracting fuel and generating electricity. Natural gas employment totaled 362,118, and coal employment totaled 160,119 jobs.

Energy-efficiency jobs increased by 133,000 to 2.2 million in 2016, according to the report.

Morning Consult