In the United States, there are more than 1.9 million jobs in the energy related sector. The biggest share with 26.7 percent is still in oil and petroleum. However, solar related jobs come in at second place with a share of 19.4 percent. Within this sector more than half, or 52.7 percent, of the roughly 260,100 jobs counted in 2016, were in installation, while manufacturing accounted for 14,6 percent of all jobs, according to the Solar Foundation.
Slapping tariffs on panels from East Asia, as President Trump just did, might help incentivize more manufacturing of solar panels in America, or it could endanger the jobs in solar installation because of higher costs for panels and hence less demand.
Solar Energy Jobs In The United States
This chart shows the percentage share of solar energy related jobs in the U.S. in 2016, by subsector (in %).
Jan 25, 2018