How Many Green Jobs are There in the USA?

Abstract

Green jobs are of intense interest in the USA but have not been rigorously estimated.  While green jobs are desirable and are increasing rapidly, consistent time series estimates and forecasts of these jobs are not available.  This has impeded research and policy development.  We analyze and compare the estimates of USA green jobs currently available.  We note that these estimates differ markedly, and summarize the reasons for the discrepancies.  We then present an estimate of the jobs created by the USA green economy in 2020 and discuss why this estimate is the most viable.  We note that most persons in jobs created by the green economy do not realize that they owe their livelihood to the green economy and that the number of jobs generated by the green economy are is least 3 or 4 times larger than realized.  We conclude that the significance of green jobs is not appreciated and this has serious economic, environmental, and policy implications that must be remedied.