Solar jobs growth not as plucky as predicted
Solar jobs are growing, and it doesn’t take a study to figure that out. But just in case you’re still in doubt, the Solar Foundation has supplied a study that says the industry grew by 6.8 percent on the jobs front in the past 12 months.
That means there are more than 100,000 people working in the U.S. solar industry, according to the most recent information of the National Solar Jobs Census 2011 report.
The industry added 6,735 workers to reach 100,237 overall, according to the report. That growth occurred while jobs in the rest of the economy grew by 0.7 percent during that time.
The results are a glimpse at the overall survey that will come out at Solar Power International on Oct. 17 in Dallas. That study will have more detail, including a state-by-state look at the solar economy.
The results were good, but not nearly as promising as the estimates provided in the census for 2010, which called for 26 percent growth and 24,000 new jobs between August 2010 and last month.
The jobs studies are not new, but they are coming at a time when the solar sector has come under fire for the high-profile bankruptcy of Solyndra, which received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Read more in the Phoenix Business Journal.
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