What is the USEER 2023 Report?
The USEER (United States Energy & Employment Report) is an annual report published by the DOE (Department of Egency) and supported by the Interagency Energy Jobs Council. It provides invaluable data points into all employment trends across the entire energy industry of the United States. Last year’s report surveyed 34,200 business representatives in the energy space to hear from all businesses in the energy space.
The 2023 Report was published last June with 2022 data and we wanted to revisit some of the key insights ahead of this year’s 2024 report. We’ll highlight the key takeaways for you in the solar industry while contextualizing it in the broader energy industry.
US Energy & Electricity Targets
The U.S. government has set ambitious goals to reach net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. Even sooner, the U.S. has a goal to reach carbon-free electricity by 2035. Electricity accounts for 25% of U.S. greenhouse emissions, so hitting our 2035 goal will make a significant dent in the national 2050 goal. Solar Energy will be a, if not the most, critical input to helping us reach carbon-free electricity in the next decade and beyond.
Of course, we cannot hit these targets unless we aggressively ramp up hiring across the energy sector. This is a nation-wide effort across education, training, certification, hiring, and upskilling to mobilize the workforce that we need to hit these targets. This is great news for you if you’re considering or already in a career in energy, as opportunities abound.
US Energy Employment Trends
Before we jump into the solar trends, it’s helpful to contextualize some of the key employment trends in the broader energy industry:
In 2022, there were over 8.1 million people working in the energy space, as defined by the DOE
The sector is growing faster than the overall economy, adding 3.8% jobs year-over-year
Clean energy jobs grew in every single state in the country
All employers are struggling to hire in the energy sector
38% of electric power generation employers say it is very difficult to hire and 48% say it is somewhat difficult
Electric and Solar Power Jobs Trends
Solar power is by far the largest employer in the electric power generation. Through 2022 it had added the most jobs (over 12,000 vs. 2021), though some other technologies are seeing faster growth rates given their smaller bases.
Many of the new jobs in Electric Power Generation were across professional and business services. This is a trend we expect to continue. The technology and the “formula” behind solar installations has largely been figured out. Not it is ready for mass commercialization and there will be more and more roles in professional services. This includes roles like Sales, Marketing, and Project Development.
Jobs in construction/installation, and manufacturing are adding thousands of jobs per year. Here is the breakdown of solar jobs by the report's categories:
Solar Hiring Challenges
While all employers in the energy space are struggling to hire, it is particularly acute in solar construction (this includes installation and operations roles). 52% of employers say it is very difficult to hire with only 3% saying it is not difficult at all to hire employees.
This is great news if you’re a qualified job seeker as you’ll have plenty of opportunities to find a role that is right for you and negotiate a strong salary in this market. Most employers cite either a small applicant pool (42%) or a lack of experience/training/technical skills (41%). If you’re just looking to break into solar or have limited experience, it also means you’re going to be able to find employers willing to take on training. You can easily search for entry-level jobs on our job board, where we’ve flagged roles that require little-to-experience. Internships and apprenticeships are another great way into the industry.
Stay in the loop of Energy Efficiency trends
Energy efficiency employs over 2 million workers in the US and is growing quickly across various categories. It is very beneficial to stay on trends in the efficiency space if you are in a customer-facing role (project manager, sales, marketing) as your solar customers are likely going to have many questions about how to efficiently power their home with their solar panels across residential and commercial projects.
For example, there are significant incentives now for customers to adopt heat pumps. You may likely face customers that will ask whether they should invest in a heat pump or brand new solar panels. While the ideal answer is both, customers will be budget-constrained and may have to make a decision on what to invest in and when. Being able to speak intelligently to the pros/cons of a decision like this will make your customers value your expertise.
We’re looking forward to the 2024 USEER report to show how the industry continues to evolve. We are expecting to see some decline in solar with the 2023 NEM 3.0 changes, but know it will be a temporary setback with the importance of solar to hit the 2035 carbon-free electricity targets.
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