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Employment in electric power generation fell from 278,387 in 2001 to 160,802 in 2014. That 42-percent decline resulted in part from energy efficiency improvements and growth in renewable sources, such as wind and solar. More than half the jobs lost were in hydroelectric power generation; employment in this industry fell from 69,346 in 2001 to 5,821 in 2014.
Industry | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total |
278,387 | 270,983 | 255,056 | 247,528 | 237,817 | 236,629 | 234,036 | 237,575 | 238,714 | 169,294 | 166,099 | 164,100 | 162,291 | 160,802 |
Hydroelectric |
69,346 | 67,461 | 53,457 | 50,143 | 43,211 | 39,432 | 38,203 | 38,649 | 37,890 | 7,045 | 5,832 | 5,937 | 6,006 | 5,821 |
Fossil fuel |
153,591 | 148,471 | 141,048 | 135,586 | 132,966 | 134,902 | 133,650 | 137,432 | 137,072 | 101,324 | 100,967 | 98,630 | 97,748 | 98,835 |
Nuclear |
45,312 | 45,457 | 50,675 | 52,029 | 52,331 | 53,396 | 52,968 | 51,479 | 53,080 | 52,582 | 52,686 | 52,182 | 50,530 | 47,413 |
Solar |
533 | 735 | 1,231 | 1,631 | ||||||||||
Wind |
2,972 | 3,190 | 3,176 | 3,411 | ||||||||||
Geothermal |
1,049 | 1,067 | 1,094 | 1,126 | ||||||||||
Biomass |
1,263 | 1,323 | 1,454 | 1,513 | ||||||||||
Other |
798 | 1,037 | 1,052 | 1,052 |
Employment in fossil fuel power generation, which includes electricity from coal and natural gas power plants, fell 54,756 from 2001 to 2014. In 2014, employment in nuclear power remained above the 2001 level.
Since 2011, employment rose in wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass. Among those industries, solar experienced the largest job gain, from 533 in 2011 to 1,631 in 2014. While the rate of job growth in wind power was slower than solar, employment in wind power was more than double that of solar in 2014.
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. For more information about employment and wages in electric power generation and other industries, see the QCEW data viewer tool.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment in electric power generation falls more than 100,000 since 2001 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/employment-in-electric-power-generation-falls-more-than-100000-since-2001.htm (visited October 31, 2024).