Study: LA Leads Nation in Green Jobs
Surge Expected to Continue, with Jobs Doubling by 2040
LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles has surpassed the Bay Area as home to more "green" jobs than any other region in the nation and those jobs will more than double in number in the next 30 years, according to a study released today by Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network (CCEJ Network).
The report, prepared by Philip Romero, the former Dean of CSU Los Angeles College of Business and Economics, says that the rapid growth in the sector will continue, with the number of green jobs in the region likely to double to more than 433,000 by 2040.
"California's commitment to clean energy is starting to bear fruit – in the form of high-wage, skilled jobs," said Tom Steyer, Founder and co-managing partner of Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. and Co-Chair of Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network. "Los Angeles is a great example of what is possible if we double-down on investments in clean energy, instead of continuing our reliance on fossil fuels."
"The study reinforces what we have known Los Angeles is capable of being: a center of innovation and green job creation," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "We have made great progress and remain committed to strengthening public-private partnerships, bringing new research opportunities, clean manufacturing, and other high-quality clean tech jobs to the LA region."
According to the study, the green job sector has grown at triple the rate of the rest of the region's economy over the last 15 years. Green jobs now account for about 178,500 of the roughly 4.5 million workers employed in the LA region in 2010, or about 3.9% of total employment, and 4.5% of private sector employment. That's more than ten times as many workers in the LA region than those in petroleum and coal products production (4,400 in 2009, according to the Employment Development Department).
"The increase in total jobs stimulated by the growth of the clean tech industry is far larger than California's entire mining industry, and roughly comparable to the utility or aerospace industries in their prerecession peaks," says the report. "These projected gains will roughly equal the jobs lost statewide in the recession in the electronics manufacturing (high tech) and 'information' (software and publishing) industries."
Jobs in the renewable energy sector also pay well.
"These occupations have substantial skill requirements allowing workers to command wages with a 50% to 100% premium over the average job," the report notes.
The report was announced with Mayor Villaraigosa during a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, with 40 mayors from across the United States in attendance.
Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network, co-chaired by Steyer and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, is a coalition of business, public health, labor, and community groups.
SOURCE Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network
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