{"id":12124,"date":"2014-01-30T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2014-01-30T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retrofitmagazine.com\/?p=12124"},"modified":"2014-04-21T17:40:52","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T21:40:52","slug":"national-solar-jobs-census-finds-solar-employment-grew-10-times-faster-national-average-employment-growth-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retrofitmagazine.com\/national-solar-jobs-census-finds-solar-employment-grew-10-times-faster-national-average-employment-growth-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 Solar Employment Grew 10 Times Faster than the National Average Employment Growth Rate"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Solar Foundation (TSF)<\/a>, an independent nonprofit solar research and education organization, has released its fourth annual National Solar Jobs Census, which found the U.S. solar industry employed 142,698 Americans in 2013. That figure includes the addition of 23,682 solar jobs over the previous year, representing 19.9 percent growth in employment since September 2012. Solar employment grew 10 times faster than the national average employment growth rate of 1.9 percent in the same period. Read the full report.<\/a> State-by-state jobs numbers, including a more detailed analysis of the California, Arizona, and Minnesota solar markets, will be released in February. <\/p>\n \u201cThe solar industry\u2019s job-creating power is clear,\u201d says Andrea Luecke, executive director and president of The Solar Foundation. \u201cThe industry has grown an astounding 53 percent in the last four years alone, adding nearly 50,000 jobs. Our census findings show that for the fourth year running, solar jobs remain well-paid and attract highly skilled workers. That growth is putting people back to work and helping local economies.\u201d <\/p>\n Solar employers are also optimistic about 2014, expecting to add another 22,000 jobs over the coming year. By comparison, over the same time period, the fossil-fuel electric generation sector shrank by more than 8,500 jobs (a decline of 8.7 percent) and jobs in coal mining grew by just 0.25 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics current Employment Survey (not seasonally adjusted), September 2012 – November 2013. <\/p>\n \u201cThe solar industry is a proven job-creator,\u201d says Bill Ritter, former governor of Colorado and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University<\/a>. \u201cIn Colorado and across the country, we have seen that when the right policies are in place to create long-term market certainty, this industry continues to add jobs to our economy.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cSolarCity has added more than 2,000 jobs since the beginning of 2013; every single one in the United States. When you install a solar panel you create a local job that can\u2019t be outsourced,\u201d says Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity<\/a>. \u201cMore than 90 percent of Americans believe we should be using more solar, and fewer than 1 percent have it today. We\u2019ve barely begun this transformation, but as it advances, the American solar industry has the potential to be one of the greatest job creators this country has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Solar companies are also reporting that cost savings are driving their clients\u2019 decision making, as 51.4 percent of customers report going solar to save money and another 22.9 percent because costs are now competitive with utility rates. <\/p>\n \u201cTens of thousands of new living-wage jobs have been created over the past year thanks to plunging solar technology costs, increasing consumer demand, and supportive government policies,\u201d says Amit Ronen, director of The George Washington University Solar Institute<\/a>. \u201cAs the nation\u2019s fastest growing energy source, we expect the solar industry will continue to generate robust job growth for at least the next decade.\u201d <\/p>\n