The Department of Energy (DOE) released its annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) on Wednesday, highlighting broad jobs growth in the energy sector driven by new fossil fuel jobs.
According to the USEER, American energy sector jobs grew 3.8% from 2021 to 2022, hitting a total of 8.1 million jobs last year and outpacing overall year-over-year employment growth of 3.1%. Sector job growth was experienced across all technologies but was especially high in traditional power generation.
“Today’s report shows that the clean energy transition is accelerating, with job growth across every pocket of America, and that unionized employers are filling these new positions with much more ease than non-unionized employers,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
“Thanks to President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, we expect to see steady growth of jobs to make and build a resilient and clean energy system offering good-paying and secure employment opportunities to America’s workers across the country,” she continued.
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Clean energy jobs grew 3.9% in 2022, increasing by 114,000 jobs nationwide, the data showed. That increase was due in large part to the 21% growth in new jobs “related to zero emissions vehicles.” Solar, wind and geothermal energy jobs increased 3.7%, 4.5% and 5%, respectively. Offshore wind energy saw an uptick of 20% which amounted to 178 new jobs.
Traditional fuels employers, however, added the highest number of jobs overall. Petroleum jobs increased 12.5%, adding 58,100 jobs, and natural gas jobs ticked up by 51,100 jobs, or 24.1%. Mining and extraction added 107,029 jobs. In addition, coal fuel jobs grew 22%.
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While highlighted in the USEER, the increase in traditional power jobs was not mentioned in the DOE press release highlighting the report’s findings. Additionally, those quoted in the announcement — Granholm, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., and North American Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey — focused on clean energy job growth.
“It’s totally unsurprising that the fossil fuel sector is growing because even renewables are made from fossil fuels. Fossil fuel consumption is up worldwide year after year because we’re always going to need more, not less,” Daniel Turner, the founder and executive director of Power the Future, told Fox News Digital. “We may use them differently to create EVs or wind turbines or solar panels, but we’re not using fewer fossil fuels.”
“It’s showing tremendous resiliency despite two years of endless attacks,” he continued. “But I wonder how long we can sustain it and how much worse it has to get before the administration relinquishes on these attacks.”
Since taking office in 2021, President Biden and his administration have pursued an aggressive climate agenda to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and boost green energy alternatives.