Key Takeaways
- Hydropower employed 2.1 million globally in 2022, with China at 1 million jobs
- Brazil’s bioenergy sector, mainly ethanol, employed 1 million people in 2022
- Global liquid biofuels jobs were 800,000 in 2022
- In 2022, the global renewable energy sector directly and indirectly employed 13.7 million people, representing a 6% increase from 2021
- Renewables accounted for 1 in 5 new jobs created worldwide in 2022 with 13.7 million total jobs
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) jobs reached 4.3 million globally in 2022, up 8% from the previous year
- Geothermal power employed 40,000 directly in 2022, plus 60,000 indirect
- IRENA forecasts 42 million renewable jobs by 2050 in 1.5C scenario
- US Inflation Reduction Act projected to create 1.5 million clean energy jobs by 2030
- Solar PV manufacturing in China employed 3.8 million workers in 2022
- Globally, solar PV installation jobs were 2.9 million in 2022, with rooftop PV at 1.8 million
- In the US, solar employed 263,000 workers in 2023, with 60% in installation
- Onshore wind jobs worldwide totaled 1.2 million in 2022
- Offshore wind employed 130,000 people globally in 2022, up 20% from 2021
- In the US, wind power supported 120,000 jobs in 2023, with manufacturing at 20,000
Related reading
01 · Category
Bioenergy And Hydro19 stats
01
Hydropower employed 2.1 million globally in 2022, with China at 1 million jobs
02
Brazil’s bioenergy sector, mainly ethanol, employed 1 million people in 2022
03
Global liquid biofuels jobs were 800,000 in 2022
04
Hydropower O&M jobs worldwide totaled 1.5 million in 2022
05
India’s hydropower jobs were 200,000 in 2022
06
Solid biomass jobs globally reached 500,000 in 2022, mostly in Asia
07
US hydropower employed 66,000 in 2023
08
Biogas jobs were 150,000 worldwide in 2022
09
Canada’s hydro sector supported 50,000 jobs in 2022
10
Modern bioenergy cooking solutions created 100,000 jobs in Africa in 2022
11
Hydropower construction jobs per GW average 10,000 person-years globally
12
EU bioenergy jobs totaled 500,000 in 2022, led by Sweden and Germany
13
Pumped storage hydro added 50,000 jobs globally in recent projects
14
Sugarcane ethanol in Brazil supported 750,000 farm and mill jobs in 2022
15
Small hydropower jobs were 300,000 in Asia in 2022
16
US biofuels employed 350,000 in 2023
17
Waste-to-energy bio jobs reached 50,000 globally in 2022
18
Hydropower refurbishments created 20,000 jobs in Europe in 2022
19
Bioenergy supply chain jobs in developing countries were 1 million in 2022
Interpretation
Bioenergy And Hydro Interpretation
In the Bioenergy and Hydro category, hydropower alone employed about 2.1 million people globally in 2022 and a further 1.5 million worked in O and M, showing that jobs are not only in generation but also in sustaining operations.
02 · Category
Global Overview29 stats
01
In 2022, the global renewable energy sector directly and indirectly employed 13.7 million people, representing a 6% increase from 2021
02
Renewables accounted for 1 in 5 new jobs created worldwide in 2022 with 13.7 million total jobs
03
Solar photovoltaic (PV) jobs reached 4.3 million globally in 2022, up 8% from the previous year
04
Wind power employed 1.3 million people worldwide in 2022, with onshore wind dominating at 1.2 million jobs
05
Hydropower supported 2.1 million jobs globally in 2022, primarily in operations and maintenance
06
Bioenergy jobs totaled 1.6 million worldwide in 2022, with significant growth in solid biomass sectors
07
Asia hosted 63% of global renewable energy jobs in 2022, equating to about 8.6 million positions
08
China alone employed 5.3 million people in renewables in 2022, representing 39% of the global total
09
Women represented 32% of the renewable energy workforce globally in 2022, up from previous years
10
Renewable energy jobs grew by 13.7 million cumulatively from 2012 to 2022 at an average annual rate of 5.5%
11
Globally, solar PV installation jobs accounted for 2.9 million of the 4.3 million total solar jobs in 2022
12
Manufacturing jobs in renewables reached 2.1 million globally in 2022, with solar PV leading at 1.6 million
13
In 2022, Brazil had 1.4 million renewable energy jobs, mainly in bioenergy from sugarcane
14
EU countries employed 1.9 million in renewables in 2022, with wind and solar leading
15
The US had 1.37 million clean energy jobs in 2023, many in renewables like solar and wind
16
IRENA projects 14.4 million renewable jobs by 2024 globally under current policies
17
In 2021, renewables created 3.9 million new jobs net globally after accounting for fossil fuel job losses
18
Geothermal energy supported 100,000 jobs worldwide in 2022
19
Concentrating solar power (CSP) jobs were around 50,000 globally in 2022
20
Ocean energy jobs numbered fewer than 10,000 globally in 2022
21
Globally, 40% of renewable jobs were in operations and maintenance (O&M) in 2022, totaling about 5.5 million
22
Construction and installation phases employed 36% of renewable workers globally in 2022
23
In 2022, India employed 1.1 million in renewables, led by solar PV at 500,000 jobs
24
Vietnam saw renewable jobs grow to 200,000 in 2022, mostly solar manufacturing
25
Germany had 350,000 renewable jobs in 2022, with wind power at 140,000
26
In 2023, the US solar industry employed over 280,000 workers, a 15% increase from 2022
27
IRENA estimates that tripling renewables by 2030 could create 24 million jobs globally
28
Globally, renewable energy jobs per TWh are higher than fossil fuels, at 3.5 jobs/TWh for solar vs 0.3 for coal
29
In 2020, renewables offset 700,000 fossil fuel jobs but net gained 3 million jobs worldwide
03 · Category
Regional And Projections21 stats
01
Geothermal power employed 40,000 directly in 2022, plus 60,000 indirect
02
IRENA forecasts 42 million renewable jobs by 2050 in 1.5C scenario
03
US Inflation Reduction Act projected to create 1.5 million clean energy jobs by 2030
04
EU Green Deal aims for 1 million additional renewable jobs by 2030
05
Africa's renewable jobs could reach 2.5 million by 2030 with investment
06
Latin America had 2.3 million renewable jobs in 2022, projected to double by 2030
07
In Texas, renewables employed 150,000 in 2023, surpassing oil and gas
08
IRENA projects solar jobs to reach 10 million globally by 2030
09
Wind jobs forecasted at 3 million worldwide by 2028
10
Developing countries could gain 20 million renewable jobs by 2030 per IRENA
11
New York state solar and wind jobs grew 10% to 50,000 in 2023
12
Australia's renewable jobs hit 32,000 in 2023, projected 50,000 by 2025
13
IRENA estimates every $1 million renewable investment creates 15 jobs vs 7.5 in fossil fuels
14
South Korea plans 300,000 green jobs by 2030, many in renewables
15
Middle East renewable jobs to grow from 50,000 to 2 million by 2050
16
In 2023, Illinois clean energy jobs reached 130,000, 20% renewables
17
Global renewable jobs to triple to 38 million by 2030 in net-zero path
18
Japan aims for 500,000 renewable jobs by 2030 under GX plan
19
Southeast Asia renewable jobs projected at 1.5 million by 2030
20
Nevada's renewable sector employed 20,000 in 2023, growing 25% yearly
21
By 2050, renewables could employ 100 million globally per ILO-IRENA
More related reading
04 · Category
Solar Power22 stats
01
Solar PV manufacturing in China employed 3.8 million workers in 2022
02
Globally, solar PV installation jobs were 2.9 million in 2022, with rooftop PV at 1.8 million
03
In the US, solar employed 263,000 workers in 2023, with 60% in installation
04
India created 100,000 new solar jobs in 2022 through its 100 GW target progress
05
Europe had 550,000 solar jobs in 2022, led by Germany with 160,000
06
Solar PV O&M jobs globally reached 430,000 in 2022
07
In Australia, solar employed 30,000 people in 2022, mostly installers
08
China's solar module manufacturing supported 2.5 million direct jobs in 2022
09
US utility-scale solar construction jobs averaged 15,000 per GW installed in 2023
10
Globally, solar PV jobs grew 8% to 4.3 million in 2022 from supply chain localization
11
Vietnam's solar boom created 150,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022
12
In 2023, California had 110,000 solar jobs, 40% of US total
13
Solar thin-film manufacturing employed 50,000 globally in 2022
14
India’s solar rooftop program generated 50,000 installer jobs by 2022
15
Europe’s solar EPC jobs were 250,000 in 2022
16
Globally, solar supply chain jobs outside manufacturing were 1.2 million in 2022
17
US residential solar installers numbered 80,000 in 2023
18
Brazil added 20,000 solar jobs in 2022 with distributed generation growth
19
Solar PV R&D jobs globally were 20,000 in 2022
20
In the Middle East, UAE solar projects created 15,000 jobs during construction of Noor Abu Dhabi
21
Global solar recycling jobs emerging at 5,000 in 2022
22
Morocco's Noor Ouarzazate CSP employed 2,500 during peak construction
05 · Category
Wind Power19 stats
01
Onshore wind jobs worldwide totaled 1.2 million in 2022
02
Offshore wind employed 130,000 people globally in 2022, up 20% from 2021
03
In the US, wind power supported 120,000 jobs in 2023, with manufacturing at 20,000
04
Germany’s wind sector had 140,000 jobs in 2022, 100,000 onshore
05
China created 60,000 new wind jobs in 2022, totaling 800,000
06
UK offshore wind jobs reached 30,000 in 2022
07
Wind turbine manufacturing globally employed 700,000 in 2022
08
US wind O&M jobs were 50,000 in 2023
09
Brazil’s wind capacity added 3 GW in 2022, creating 15,000 construction jobs
10
Europe’s wind jobs totaled 750,000 in 2022, led by Germany and Spain
11
Offshore wind installation jobs per GW are 5,000 person-years globally
12
India’s wind jobs were 50,000 in 2022, mostly O&M
13
Denmark employed 12,000 in wind in 2022, 10% of workforce in renewables
14
Global wind blade manufacturing jobs were 200,000 in 2022
15
US Midwest states had 60,000 wind jobs in 2023
16
Vietnam emerging wind market created 5,000 jobs in 2022
17
Wind tower production employed 150,000 globally in 2022
18
Spain’s wind sector supported 100,000 jobs in 2022
19
Floating offshore wind jobs projected at 10,000 by 2025 globally
Interpretation
Wind Power Interpretation
Wind power job creation is clearly strong and accelerating offshore, with offshore wind employing 130,000 people globally in 2022 up 20% from 2021, even as onshore remained the largest base at 1.2 million jobs worldwide.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Nathan Caldwell. (2026, February 13). Renewable Energy Job Creation Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/renewable-energy-job-creation-statistics
MLA
Nathan Caldwell. "Renewable Energy Job Creation Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/renewable-energy-job-creation-statistics.
Chicago
Nathan Caldwell. 2026. "Renewable Energy Job Creation Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/renewable-energy-job-creation-statistics.
Sources & references
23 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level