Advanced energy beat state job growth overall; employers expected strong 5% growth for advanced energy in 2020 before COVID-19 health crisis hit

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2020 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) reported the latest employment data in a new fact sheet showing that New Jersey had 62,100 people working in advanced energy in 2019. This represents more workers than those in Hotels, Motels & Casinos (53,740) and triple those in Colleges & Universities (20,012). Nationwide, there were 3.6 million advanced energy workers.

Advanced energy employment in New Jersey saw strong 4% growth last year, soundly beating the state’s overall job growth of 0.7%. Also, employers expected 5% increase in advanced energy jobs for 2020 when surveyed late last year. The largest jobs segment in 2019 was Energy Efficiency, with 38,000 workers, which also grew at a 5% rate.

“With 62,000 advanced energy workers in New Jersey, advanced energy is now an established segment of the state’s workforce and economy,” said J.R. Tolbert, Managing Director at AEE. “With jobs growing faster than overall jobs in the state, advanced energy is poised to drive economic growth as we move beyond the COVID-19 health crisis.”

Key 2019 New Jersey employment data are summarized in a fact sheet include:

• Energy efficiency led with more than 38,000 jobs, or 61% of total advanced energy employment in the state, and up 5% from 2019.
  
  
• Advanced electricity generation supports 17,000 jobs (27% of total), with notable growth in wind energy (up 15%, to 875 jobs in 2019). Solar energy supports 9,300 jobs in New Jersey, up 1% last year.
  
  
• Advanced vehicles employs 4,300 workers (7% of total), down 2% in 2019 after a stunning 19% increase in 2018.
  
  
• Advanced grid & storage employs 1,900 workers, with energy storage up 6% and smart grid up 5% last year.
  
  
• Top 5 counties were: Bergen (6,900); Middlesex (6,000); Monmouth and Morris (5,900 each); and Essex (4,300).
  
  
• Strong 5% jobs growth was expected for 2020 when employers were surveyed in late 2019.

“With a sizeable solar industry, a wind industry poised for growth offshore, and promising trends in electric transportation, New Jersey should expect to gain thousands of advanced energy jobs in the coming years,” said Tolbert. “Policymakers should take note of opportunities to reduce market barriers and accelerate the growth of advanced energy in the Garden State.”

The 2019 data for the New Jersey employment fact sheet was derived from the 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in association with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About Advanced Energy Economy:
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. Engaged at the federal level and in more than a dozen states around the country, AEE represents more than 100 companies in the $238 billion U.S. advanced energy industry, which employs 3.6 million U.S. workers. Learn more at www.aee.net, track the latest news @AEEnet.