For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, March 22, 2012 USDL-12-0495
Technical information: (202) 691-5185 * GGSInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ggs
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
(NOTE: This release was reissued on March 22, 2012 to correct the first
paragraph in the GGS Scope section. The first sentence should have read,
"The GGS scope contained 25,513,300 jobs, or 20.0 percent of the nation's
total employment." None of the tables were affected by this error.)
EMPLOYMENT IN GREEN GOODS AND SERVICES - 2010
In 2010, 3.1 million jobs in the United States were associated with
the production of green goods and services, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Green Goods and Services (GGS) jobs are
found in businesses that produce goods and provide services that
benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. GGS jobs
accounted for 2.4 percent of total employment in 2010. The private
sector had 2.3 million GGS jobs and the public sector had 860,300.
Manufacturing had 461,800 GGS jobs, the most among any private sector
industry. (See table 1.)
Among the states, California had the largest number of GGS jobs
(338,400), accounting for 2.3 percent of employment in the state.
Vermont had the highest proportion of GGS employment at 4.4 percent;
the District of Columbia had the second highest at 3.9 percent. (See
table 4.)
The GGS employment data are compiled through the Green Goods and
Services survey under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
(QCEW) program. The GGS survey includes approximately 120,000 business
and government establishments within 333 industries that are
identified as potentially producing green goods or providing green
services. Establishments in the sample report whether they produced
green goods and services and the percentage of their revenue or
employment associated with that output. Those percentages are
multiplied by their employment to derive the number of GGS jobs for
the establishment. More information about the survey is provided in
the Technical Note.
Private Industry
The private sector had 2,268,800 total GGS jobs in 2010. The
manufacturing industry had the greatest number of GGS private jobs
(461,800). (See table A.) These jobs were 4.0 percent of manufacturing
employment. Examples of green goods and services produced by
manufacturing industries include iron and steel from recycled inputs,
air conditioning and refrigeration equipment meeting selected
standards, hybrid cars and parts, and pollution mitigation equipment.
Construction had 372,100 GGS jobs, comprising 6.8 percent of
construction employment. Among the GGS activities performed within
this industry are the construction of plants that produce energy from
renewable sources and weatherizing and retrofitting projects that
reduce household energy consumption.
Professional, scientific, and technical services had 349,000 GGS jobs,
accounting for 4.7 percent of the industry’s employment. Industries
within professional, scientific, and technical services that have GGS
output include engineering and architectural services, computer
systems design, and management and consulting services.
Administrative and waste services accounted for 319,900 GGS jobs, 4.3
percent of industry employment. Waste collection and remediation
services are examples of GGS services within administrative and waste
services.
Table A. GGS employment level and share of total,
by private industry, 2010 annual averages
------------------------------------------------------------
| | GGS | GGS
NAICS | Industry | employment | percent(1)
------------------------------------------------------------
10 |Total private, | |
| all industries......... | 2,268,824 | 2.1
11,21 |Natural resources | |
|and mining.............. | 65,050 | 3.6
22 |Utilities............... | 65,664 | 11.9
23 |Construction............ | 372,077 | 6.8
31-33 |Manufacturing........... | 461,847 | 4.0
42, | | |
44-45 |Trade................... | 202,370 | 1.0
48-49 |Transportation | |
|and warehousing......... | 245,057 | 6.2
51 |Information............. | 37,163 | 1.4
52,53 |Financial activities.... | 190 | 0.0
54 |Professional, scientific,| |
|and technical services.. | 349,024 | 4.7
55 |Management of companies | |
|and enterprises......... | 34,711 | 1.9
56 |Administrative | |
|and waste services...... | 319,915 | 4.3
61,62 |Education and | |
|health services......... | 37,069 | 0.2
71,72 |Leisure and hospitality. | 22,510 | 0.2
81 |Other services, except | |
|public administration... | 56,174 | 1.3
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 GGS percent is the percentage of the GGS employment
compared to the 2010 average annual employment data from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
NOTE: Data may not add to total due to rounding.
Utilities
In private industry, the utilities industry accounted for 65,700 GGS
jobs, or 11.9 percent of total private utilities employment. Among the
industries involved in private sector electric power generation,
nuclear power had the highest GGS employment with 35,800 jobs in 2010.
Hydroelectric power generation had 3,700 total private GGS jobs in
2010. (See tables 2 and 3.)
The other electric power generation industry, which includes
electricity generated from biomass, sunlight, wind, and other
renewable sources, had 4,700 GGS private sector jobs. Within this
industry, electricity generated from wind had the highest employment
with 2,200 jobs, followed by biomass with 1,100 jobs, geothermal with
600 jobs, and solar with 400 jobs.
Government
The public sector had 860,300 GGS jobs in 2010, or 4.0 percent of
public sector employment. Local government had the largest portion of
GGS employment in the public sector, with 476,500 GGS jobs
representing 3.4 percent of total local government employment. The
transportation and warehousing sector, which encompasses mass transit
systems, had the largest GGS employment in local government with
228,900 GGS jobs. (See table 2.)
State government had 227,100 GGS jobs accounting for 4.9 percent of
state government employment. The public administration sector was the
largest industry in state government, having 141,700 GGS jobs in 2010.
This industry includes the enforcement of environmental regulations
and the administration of environmental programs.
The federal government had 156,700 GGS jobs representing 5.3 percent
of federal government employment. As was the case with state
government, most GGS jobs in federal government were in the public
administration sector, which had 128,300 jobs. The leisure and
hospitality sector, which includes national parks, had the second
largest GGS employment in federal government with 13,500 jobs.
Geographic Detail
The states with over 100,000 GGS jobs in 2010 were California
(338,400), New York (248,500), Texas (229,700), Pennsylvania
(182,200), Illinois (139,800), and Ohio (126,900). (See table 4.)
California had the highest GGS employment in the United States, with
338,400 GGS jobs representing 2.3 percent of the state's total
employment. Construction had the largest number of private sector GGS
jobs in California (39,600), followed by administrative and waste
services (39,300); professional, scientific, and technical services
(39,200); and manufacturing (31,200). (See table 6.)
New York had 248,500 GGS jobs or 3.0 percent of the state’s total
employment. In New York, the transportation and warehousing industry
had the largest amount of GGS jobs (32,000), followed by construction
(21,100), professional, scientific, and technical services (20,600),
and administrative and waste services (20,600).
Texas had 229,700 GGS jobs or 2.3 percent of the state’s total
employment. Professional, scientific, and technical services had the
largest number of GGS jobs in the state (35,800), followed by
construction (34,300) and manufacturing (27,400).
Vermont had the highest percentage of GGS total employment of any
jurisdiction (4.4 percent). The District of Columbia had the next
highest proportion of its employment in GGS jobs (3.9 percent).
Background
Definition
The BLS green jobs definition contains two components, an output-based
approach and a process-based approach. Output-based jobs are jobs
associated with producing goods or providing services that benefit the
environment or conserve natural resources. Process-based jobs are jobs
in which workers' duties involve making their establishment's
production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer
natural resources.
This news release covers the output approach only. The process
approach data will be released later this year.
The output based approach estimates the number of jobs associated with
producing green goods or providing green services. The BLS output
definition of GGS employment does not include workers from all
industries. BLS identified 333 industries from the 1,193 detailed
industries in the 2007 North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) that potentially provide goods and services that directly
benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. These 333
industries, the GGS scope, consist of industries that may produce
green goods and services within one or more of the following five
groups:
1. Energy from renewable sources.
2. Energy efficiency equipment, appliances, buildings and vehicles,
and goods and services that improve the energy efficiency of buildings
and the efficiency of energy storage and distribution.
3. Pollution reduction and removal, greenhouse gas reduction, and
recycling and reuse goods and services.
4. Organic agriculture; sustainable forestry; and soil, water, and
wildlife conservation.
5. Governmental and regulatory administration; and education,
training, and advocacy goods and services.
The GGS scope was identified by BLS after consultations with industry
groups, government agencies, stakeholders, and the public, which
helped BLS identify industries that potentially provide green goods or
services. Not every activity or product in the industries within the
GGS scope is considered green. An establishment classified in one of
these 333 NAICS industries may produce only green goods, both green
and non-green goods, or only non-green goods. Only the employment
associated with the production of green goods and services within
these selected industries is counted as GGS jobs. BLS recognizes that
establishments producing green goods and services may fall outside of
the GGS scope, and the associated employment will not be counted in
the GGS survey results.
GGS Scope
The GGS scope contained 25,513,300 jobs, or 20.0 percent of the
nation's total employment. Of these jobs, GGS estimates that 3,129,100
jobs, or 2.4 percent of total employment, were related to producing
goods and services that met the BLS GGS definition. (For more
information regarding the GGS definition and methodology, please see
the Technical Note.)
Table B. Employment by frame, 2010 annual averages
--------------------------------------------------------------
| Employment | Percent of
Aggregation | level | total employment
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total US covered employment(1) |127,820,400 | 100.0
GGS in-scope(1) | 25,513,300 | 20.0
GGS employment | 3,129,100 | 2.4
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Data Presentation
Data includes GGS employment, GGS employment percentage, and total
QCEW employment by industry and state. The total employment levels are
from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The QCEW
includes all businesses with employees covered by state or federal
unemployment insurance, which is approximately 95.3 percent of
civilian wage and salary employment in the U.S.
For More Information
The tables and charts included in this release contain data for the
nation and for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for
2010 green employment levels and percents for all states are provided
in tables 4, 5, and 6 of this release.
For additional information about the Green Goods and Services data,
please read the Technical Note. Further information about the GGS data
may be obtained by calling (202) 691-5185 or by accessing the GGS
website at www.bls.gov/ggs.
Mark your calendars:
The
Nuclear Security Summit that begins in Seoul on Monday will focus on a
range of nuclear-related issues. But two subjects that should dominate
discussions at the event are working toward an institutionalized
mechanism for strengthening synergies between nuclear safety and nuclear
security, and the question of how to restore confidence in the nuclear
industry in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Both problems seem
likely to require a greater oversight role, including through increased
responsibilities for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
which has often been straitjacketed by politics.
The first Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington in 2010, focused
on finding ways of strengthening international safeguards to prevent
nuclear terrorism. But with the fallout from Fukushima looming so large
in the international consciousness, nuclear safety generally – including
the sound construction of plants – is likely to be discussed.
In addition, more should be done to ensure that countries report their
...
A
lack of preparation, defenses and confusion about who held
responsibility contributed to the seriousness of the accident at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
US President Barack Obama said Sunday that all highly enriched uranium
had been removed from Ukraine, hailing it as an important step towards
curbing the threat of nuclear terrorism.
Obama made the announcement on the eve of a nuclear security summit in
Seoul gathering leaders or top officials from 53 nations to look at ways
of locking up fissile material that could be used to build thousand
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the troubled Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant, has begun steps to suspend operations at
its last running nuclear reactor in order to carry out checks.
The No. 6 unit at the company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is expected to
be shut down early on Monday, leaving all of the 17 reactors idle,
including three units which have suffered a meltdown
California energy officials say they're preparing for potential summer
power shortages if the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station remains out
of service.
The nuclear power plant was shut down Jan. 31 when a tube that carries
hot, radioactive water in one of the plant's steam generators sprang a
leak.
A small amount of radioactive steam was released, the Los Angeles Times
report