Growing green jobs

Green jobs in Nevada are few in number but growing, compared to the rest of the country. That’s according to a new report from Pew Charitable Trusts, which conducted the first hard count of actual jobs across all 50 states. Nevada’s green jobs grew 28.8 percent compared to the state’s overall job growth of 26.5 percent between 1998 and 2007.

“Jobs in the state overall grew rapidly between 1998 and 2007, but jobs in its emerging clean energy sector grew even faster,” Dan Geary, Nevada representative for the Pew Environment Group, said in a statement. “Nevada’s aggressive program to encourage businesses, homes, schools and public buildings to use solar power is one reason this growth may continue.”

The report said the number of jobs in the country’s clean energy economy grew almost two and a half times faster than overall jobs during that time period. The “clean energy economy” includes all jobs that supply the market demand for environmentally friendly goods and services, from solar installers to receptionists at organic tea retailers. Traditional jobs grew 3.7 percent from 1998 to 2007, while green jobs grew 9.1 percent. This was despite a lack of strong political support for the clean energy economy during those years.

States that already have many green jobs and are quickly adding more include Colorado, Tennessee and Oregon. States actually losing green jobs include Utah, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Read the full report at www.pewtrusts.org.