The U.S. Energy & Employment Report provides a unique window on the people who meet the nation’s energy needs, and identifies important trends and skill sets for the 21st Century energy workforce. The annual report is produced by NASEO and EFI, with data from BW Research.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of employer data collected in the fourth quarter of 2018, the 2019 USEER finds that the Traditional Energy and Energy Efficiency sectors in 2018 employed approximately 6.7 million Americans out of a workforce of approximately 147 million. Employment in these sectors increased in 2018 by 2.3% from the previous year, adding 151,700 net new jobs, nearly 7% of all new jobs nationwide.
The 2019 USEER analyzes the following five sectors of the U.S. economy:
• Fuels
• Electric Power Generation
• Transmission, Distribution and Storage
• Energy Efficiency
• Motor Vehicles.
The first three of these sectors make up the Traditional Energy sector. This year’s report has expanded to include estimates of job levels in pipeline construction, wages, and energy storage employment. The 2019 report offers—for the first time —comparative analysis of wage levels across multiple energy sectors.
The U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) is an annual report, based on a survey administered to over 30,000 employers across 53 different energy technologies. Originally published by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2016, the USEER was produced in 2018 and 2019 by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) under the identical, federally-approved protocols as previous editions.
Fuels employment encompasses all work related to fuel extraction and mining, including petroleum refineries and firms that support coal mining, oil, and gas field machinery manufacturing. Workers across both the forestry and agriculture industries that support fuel production with corn ethanol, biodiesels, and fuel wood are also included in the fuel employment data.
TRENDS
2018 Job Gain: In 2018, the Fuels sector grew by approximately 52,000 jobs, or nearly 5% for a total of 1,122,764 jobs.
Oil and Gas Recovery: Oil and natural gas employers added the most new jobs, nearly 51,000, employing 603,000 and 271,000 respectively.
Coal Growth: Coal jobs increased by 650 jobs, totaling about 74,800.
Biofuels: Woody biomass added 1,800 jobs, while corn ethanol also increased.
2019 Expectations: Fuels’ employers anticipate over 3% job growth in 2019, with most of the increase expected in oil and natural gas.
Electric Power Generation covers all utility and non-utility employment across electric generating technologies including fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewable energy technologies. Also included in the employment totals are any firms engaged in facility construction, turbine and other generation equipment manufacturing, as well as wholesale parts distribution of all electric generation technologies.
TRENDS
2018 Job Growth: In 2018, the Electric Power Generation sector declined by almost 1%, dropping 8,258 jobs for a total of 875,585.
Technology Shifts: Advanced natural gas added the most new jobs, 4,500, while solar contracted, losing 8,000 jobs. Other technologies that grew included wind, combined heat and power, and geothermal while nuclear and coal also declined.
2019 Expectations: Electric Power Generation employers anticipated 7.1% job growth in 2019, with most of the increase expected in renewable construction.
Transmission, Distribution, and Storage infrastructure links energy supplies to intermediate and end users. It includes:
2.6 million miles of interstate and intrastate pipelines;
414 natural gas storage facilities;
330 ports handling crude petroleum and refined petroleum products;
140,000 miles of railways that handle crude petroleum, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal;
642,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines;
6.3 million miles of distribution lines.
TRENDS
2018 TDS Employment: Excluding retail employees in gas stations and fuel dealers, 1,365,887 workers were employed in Transmission, Distribution, and Storage, adding 33,000 new jobs. Gas stations and fuel dealers contracted by approximately 2,000 employees.
2019 Expectations: TDS employers predict 3.2% job growth in 2019, led by professional and business services employers who anticipate 5.5% growth, followed by wholesale trade, distribution, and transport and other services at 5.4% and 4.9% respectively.
Energy Efficiency employment covers both the production of energy-saving products and the provision of services that reduce end-use energy consumption. These jobs include the manufacture of ENERGY STAR® appliances and other ENERGY STAR® labeled products, as well as building design and contracting services that provide insulation, improve natural lighting, and reduce overall energy consumption across homes and businesses.[1]
TRENDS
2018 Job Growth: In 2018, the Energy Efficiency sector continued to produce the most new jobs of any energy sector—over 76,000—with 2,324,866 jobs in total. Demand growth for efficient technology and building upgrades has driven expansion across many traditional industries including construction trades which added almost 21,000 jobs and professional services which added 35,000 employees.
2019 Expectations: Energy Efficiency employers report a projected growth rate for employment in 2018 of almost 8 percent. Construction employers, in particular, report expected Energy Efficiency job growth of 8.8 percent by the end of 2019.
Key Occupations: The majority, nearly 56 percent, of Energy Efficiency employees worked at construction firms in 2018, installing or servicing Energy Efficiency goods or performing Energy Efficiency related services.[2] Approximately one in five workers in the Energy Efficiency sector worked in professional and business services.
Though not considered a sector of the Traditional Energy industry, Motor Vehicles,[1] which include cars, light-duty and heavy-duty trucks, and component parts and trailers, is included in this report, given both the high energy consumption of their manufacture and their contribution to end-use energy consumption.
TRENDS
2018 Job Growth: The U.S. Motor Vehicles sector employed 2,536,382 Americans in 2018, increasing by 74,000 employees over 2017. This is exclusive of dealerships and retailers, which employed nearly two million additional workers.
Alternative fuels vehicles: Alternative fuels’ vehicles employed 253,599 workers in 2018, an increase of nearly 34,000 in 2018, after a significant decline in 2017.
Fuel economy: 43% of employees—over 486,000—in the auto parts sector work with products that contribute to fuel economy.
2019 Expectations. Motor Vehicles’ employers anticipate 2.2% growth in 2019.
Produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) provides a quantitative lens with which to evaluate the employment impact of new energy technologies, shifting fuels deployment, and evolving transmission and distribution systems. It also presents a unique snapshot of energy efficiency employment in key sectors of the economy, including construction and manufacturing. The report also illustrates how fuel efficiency as well as new technologies and materials affect employment in the motor vehicle industry.
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