Clean energy jobs in the US grew more than three times faster than the wider economy in 2024 yet momentum is slowing as President Trump’s energy reset begins to bite.
The Clean Jobs America report from business group E2 says the sector added nearly 100,000 new roles last year, lifting the total to 3.56 million.
Clean energy now makes up 42% of all US energy jobs and 2.3% of the national workforce – more than the number employed as nurses or teachers.
Solar, wind, storage, efficiency and clean vehicles made up 82% of all new US energy roles. Over the past five years the sector has added more than 520,000 jobs, up 17%, far outpacing fossil fuels.
Yet 2024 saw the weakest growth since the pandemic.
About 50,000 fewer jobs were created than in 2023 as uncertainty and policy rollbacks took hold.
Trump’s administration has scrapped tax credits, cancelled permits and added new red tape. Since January, companies have pulled more than $22 billion (£17.6bn) of planned projects that would have created 16,500 jobs.
Analysts warn as many as 830,000 posts could go under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed on 4 July.
Bob Keefe, executive director at E2, said: “This was one of the hottest and most promising job sectors at the end of 2024. Now clean energy job growth is at serious risk – and with it our overall economy.”
Energy efficiency remains the largest employer with 2.4 million jobs after adding 91,000 last year. Renewables employ 569,000, up 9,000, while storage roles rose by 6,800.
The South led the nation with 41,000 new roles, pushing its clean energy workforce past 1 million.
California remains top with 552,000 jobs, followed by Texas with 281,000. Seventeen states have seen their clean energy workforces jump more than 20% since 2020.
Michael Timberlake, research director at E2, said: “Every year clean energy jobs become more critical to our overall economy. The future of America’s job market is now inseparable from clean energy.”
The findings are based on federal labour statistics and a survey of more than 40,000 businesses conducted for the Department of Energy’s annual employment report.
