Renewable energy employed an estimated 16.2 million people worldwide in 2023, up from 7.3 million in 2012. The figures below distinguish direct and indirect jobs, broader clean-energy measures, surveys, observed occupations and forecasts.
Key Renewable Energy Employment Statistics
The most useful headline figures cover scale, technology, geography, workforce conditions and U.S. occupational outlooks:
- 16.2 million people held direct or indirect renewable-energy jobs worldwide in 2023, according to an IRENA estimate.
- Global renewable-energy employment rose from 7.3 million jobs in 2012 to 16.2 million in 2023, although definitions and data coverage vary by technology and year.
- China accounted for 7.4 million renewable-energy jobs in 2023, or 46% of the worldwide total.
- Solar photovoltaic supported 7.107 million jobs worldwide in 2023, including grid-connected and off-grid PV employment.
- Liquid biofuels supported 2.803 million jobs worldwide in 2023, including parts of the agricultural feedstock supply chain.
- Hydropower supported 2.324 million direct jobs worldwide in 2023, a direct-employment measure rather than a combined direct-and-indirect total.
- Wind power supported 1.457 million renewable-energy jobs worldwide in 2023, including direct and indirect employment.
- Brazil had 1.6 million renewable-energy jobs in 2023, while the European Union had 1.8 million.
- The United States and India each had slightly more than 1 million renewable-energy jobs in 2023, using IRENA estimates.
- The broader global energy sector employed more than 67 million workers after adding nearly 2.5 million jobs in 2023, a wider category than renewables.
- U.S. solar PV employed 279,447 people in 2023, an increase of about 6% from 2022.
- U.S. clean-energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs in 2023, according to the 2024 U.S. Energy & Employment Report.
- Clean energy represented 42% of all U.S. energy jobs in 2023, under the report’s broader definition.
- All 50 states and the District of Columbia added renewable-electric-generation jobs from 2022 to 2023, according to the state report.
- U.S. solar photovoltaic installer employment was 31,100 jobs in 2025, with a projected 42,400 jobs in 2035.
- U.S. solar photovoltaic installer employment is projected to grow 37% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3% for all occupations.
- U.S. wind turbine technician employment is projected to grow 30% from 2025 to 2035, from 11,800 to 15,300 jobs.
- U.S. solar photovoltaic installers had a median annual wage of $53,140 in May 2025, while wind turbine technicians had a $64,120 median.
Contents
- Global renewable energy employment scale and trends
- Renewable energy jobs by technology
- Country and regional renewable energy employment
- United States renewable and clean-energy employment
- Workforce composition, skills and wages
- Occupation-level renewable energy outlooks
Global Renewable Energy Employment Scale and Trends
IRENA estimated 16.2 million direct and indirect renewable-energy jobs worldwide in 2023, compared with 7.3 million in 2012. The series is an estimate, and definitions and data coverage vary by technology and year.
Source: Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024.
| Measure | Period | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable-energy employment | 2012 | 7.3 million jobs | Worldwide estimate |
| Renewable-energy employment | 2023 | 16.2 million jobs | Worldwide, direct and indirect |
| China’s share | 2023 | 7.4 million jobs; 46% | Worldwide comparison |
| European Union | 2023 | 1.8 million jobs | EU-27 aggregate |
| Brazil | 2023 | 1.6 million jobs | Country estimate |
| United States | 2023 | Slightly more than 1 million jobs | Country estimate |
| India | 2023 | Slightly more than 1 million jobs | Country estimate |
The wider energy sector is larger than renewable energy alone. The IEA estimated more than 67 million energy workers worldwide after nearly 2.5 million jobs were added in 2023; energy employment grew 3.8%, compared with 2.2% economy-wide.
The IEA also estimated that clean-energy sectors added 1.5 million jobs globally in 2023, compared with 940,000 in fossil-fuel sectors. Clean energy is a broader adjacent category than renewable energy in that classification, and the IEA figures are modelled full-time-equivalent estimates.
Source: Executive summary – World Energy Employment 2024.
Renewable Energy Jobs by Technology
Solar photovoltaic was the largest technology grouping in IRENA’s 2023 estimate, but the categories are not identical in measurement: most combine direct and indirect employment, while hydropower is direct employment only.
| Renewable technology | 2023 employment | Measurement note |
|---|---|---|
| Solar photovoltaic | 7.107 million | Worldwide direct and indirect estimate |
| Liquid biofuels | 2.803 million | Includes parts of agricultural supply chains |
| Hydropower | 2.324 million | Worldwide direct jobs only |
| Wind power | 1.457 million | Worldwide direct and indirect estimate |
| Solid biomass | 765,000 | Worldwide estimate |
| Solar heating and cooling | 681,000 | Worldwide value-chain estimate |
Liquid-biofuel employment includes agricultural feedstock supply-chain work, including informal and seasonal work in some economies. IRENA notes that technology-level data quality is less detailed for smaller subsectors, which matters when comparing the smaller categories.
Source: Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024.
Country and Regional Renewable Energy Employment Data
Employment concentration differs by technology and national supply chains. China’s 2023 wind industry employed an estimated 745,000 people, up 9% from 681,000 in 2022, while its hydropower sector employed about 788,000 people directly.
China’s solar heating and cooling industry directly employed about 514,000 people in 2023. Vietnam’s solar PV workforce was estimated at 105,000 jobs, with roughly three-quarters in manufacturing.
Brazil’s wind-industry employment reached an estimated 80,300 jobs in 2023, up from 67,700 in 2022. Its solar water-heating industry employed an estimated 50,700 people in 2023, including manufacturing and installation.
The top ten liquid-biofuel countries accounted for 95% of worldwide biofuel jobs in 2023; IRENA counted EU members as one unit in that comparison.
Source for these country and regional estimates: Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024.
United States Renewable and Clean-Energy Employment Statistics
The National Solar Jobs Census reported 279,447 U.S. solar PV jobs in 2023, an increase of 15,564 jobs, or about 6%, from 2022. This is solar PV employment rather than the full renewable-energy workforce.
The broader 2024 U.S. Energy & Employment Report placed total U.S. energy-sector employment at 8.35 million jobs in 2023, up from 8.10 million in 2022. It reported 142,000 new clean-energy jobs, 4.2% clean-energy growth, and 2.0% growth for the rest of the energy sector and the economy overall.
| U.S. measure | 2023 result | Definition or geography |
|---|---|---|
| Total energy employment | 8.35 million | National energy-sector survey |
| Clean-energy job additions | 142,000 | Broader clean-energy category |
| Clean energy’s share of energy jobs | 42% | National survey definition |
| Clean energy’s share of new energy jobs | 56% | Jobs created in 2023 |
| Clean energy’s share of all new economy jobs | Just under 5% | Rounded executive-summary figure |
All 50 states and the District of Columbia added renewable-electric-generation jobs between 2022 and 2023. California had 147,161 such jobs in 2023, while Texas had 50,138.
Vermont’s clean-energy jobs equaled 5.2% of total state employment in 2023, the highest state proportion reported by USEER. State and national clean-energy definitions differ where data availability requires it.
Sources: 2024 U.S. Energy & Employment Report: Executive Summary and Energy Employment By State 2024.
Workforce Composition, Skills, Wages and Hiring Conditions
U.S. solar PV employment was concentrated in installations and project development in 2023. The National Solar Jobs Census assigned 64% of solar PV employment to that category, 12% to trade and distribution, 12% to manufacturing, and 8% to operations and maintenance.
Brazil’s estimated 2023 wind jobs were distributed across 44% construction, 34% manufacturing and 22% operations and maintenance. The percentages are rounded employment-factor estimates rather than a worker census.
The IEA’s survey of energy employers across 27 countries found that 75% reported difficulty hiring for construction roles. In selected major energy markets, energy-specialised occupations saw wage growth of up to 9% in 2023, versus 6% for non-energy jobs.
The same IEA comparison found that oil and gas workers earned about 15% more on average than workers in clean-energy sectors. This is an average across markets and occupations, and clean energy is broader than renewables.
Sources: Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024 and Executive summary – World Energy Employment 2024.
Occupation-Level Renewable Energy Employment Outlooks
BLS occupational data provide a narrower U.S. view than national renewable-energy totals. They measure defined occupations, and wage estimates exclude self-employed workers.
| Occupation | 2025 employment | 2035 projection | Projected change | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar photovoltaic installers | 31,100 | 42,400 | 37% | $53,140 in May 2025 |
| Wind turbine technicians | 11,800 | 15,300 | 30% | $64,120 in May 2025 |
BLS projects about 4,200 solar photovoltaic installer openings per year on average from 2025 to 2035. Those openings include replacement needs from workers leaving the occupation or transferring, not only new demand.
For wind turbine technicians, BLS projects about 1,500 openings per year on average over the same period. In 2025, about 42% of the 11,800 wind turbine technicians were employed in wind-electric-power generation.
The two occupational growth rates exceed the BLS 3% all-occupations comparison for 2025–2035, but they remain forecasts rather than observed outcomes. The solar installer figures exclude related occupations not classified as PV installers, and both occupational definitions are narrower than the full renewable-energy value chain.
Sources: Solar Photovoltaic Installers: Occupational Outlook Handbook and Wind Turbine Technicians: Occupational Outlook Handbook.