In California, Green Jobs Are Recession-Proof

Last summer, the Brookings Institution came up with a figure for America’s ever-elusive green workforce: America supports 2.7 million jobs in the clean energy economy. And in California, at least, jobs like these have proven more resilient to the economic downturn. What Next 10, a nonprofit focused on California’s future, says the “core green economy” did shrink during the recession (from 2009 to 2010, more specifically). But while California’s overall economy took a 7 percent hit, the green economy shrunk by only 3 percent.

While any job loss hurts, some sectors of the green economy—like energy infrastructure, clean transportation, and energy generation—grew during tough economic times. Next 10 also looked at longer term growth, and found that the green economy has been shooting past the economy as a whole, growing 53 percent since 1995 (in that time, the economy grew 12 percent overall). As the report puts it, “While the downturn reset core green employment back to 2008 levels, total state employment was set back to 2001 levels.” That means the green job sector has less ground to recover before it surpasses its former level and gains new strength.

In other words, green jobs have staying power. They’re not in luxury industries that dissipate when times get tough. On the contrary, green industries become more attractive economic opportunities in times of downturn, since they promise cost savings and resilience in the face of rising costs.