Are Green Jobs Growing?

Tuesday’s blog highlighted which cities have the most green jobs, according to SimplyHired.com. But are green jobs growing overall?

An article on GreenBuildings.com notes that various organizations have tallied different counts for the number of “green jobs” in the U.S.  For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 3.1 million “green goods and services jobs” for 2012, whereas the Brookings Institute counted 2.7 million clean energy jobs in 2010. 

Although the numbers vary — in part because organizations define “green jobs” differently — the actual count isn’t necessarily the most important thing. 

The fact that so many organizations are even caring to count the number of green jobs in the U.S. shows that the green economy is a “staying trend and one that’s worth paying attention to,” says GreenBuildings.com.

Also, most organizations are not only counting the number of green jobs in the U.S., but reporting an increase.  LinkedIn reported that the “Renewables and Environment” profession category that contains green jobs grew by 49.2 percent between 2007 and 2011 — the most of any category, according to GreenBuildings.com.  

Jobs with an “environmental compliance” keyword on SimplyHired.com increased by 24 percent since August 2010 and jobs focusing on energy efficiency increased by 400 percent, reports Forbes.com.

The increase in the green jobs count is not only due to new jobs being created for the environment.  It’s also due to conventional jobs incorporating “green duties,” such as making the office environment more environmentally friendly, or greening production processes. 

This is great news for everyone, as an increase in green practices means a healthier environment for humans and the natural environment we depend upon.

With environmentally office supplies becoming increasingly available at cost competitive prices, such as the ASPEN 100 percent recycled paper featured above, supplied through EcoGreenOffice, greening conventional jobs is increasingly becoming a possibility.

Sources

http://www.green-buildings.com/content/782380-top-10-cities-green-jobs-according-simply-hired

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/05/07/the-top-10-cities-for-green-jobs/