Global employment in the energy sector has risen above pre-pandemic levels to 65 million people, led by increased employment in clean energy to now account for half of the total energy employment, a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed Thursday.
According to the IEA's first-ever assessment of energy jobs worldwide by region and technology in its World Energy Employment Report, global employment in the energy sector has grown to around 2% of the total labor force.
Clean energy sectors contributed to the growth, while the oil and gas sector saw some of the largest declines in employment at the start of the pandemic, which are yet to fully recover.
As clean energy surpassed the 50% mark for its share of total energy employment with the recent rebound, nearly two-thirds of workers are involved in building new projects and manufacturing clean energy technologies.
'Most regions have surpassed this threshold already, though the Middle East and Russia are notable exceptions. Many clean energy segments rival the workforce in conventional energy segments,' the report read.
The oil distribution sector employs almost 8 million, the coal sector has 6.3 million employees, 3.9 million people work in the natural gas sector, bioenergy accounts for 3.3 million workers and jobs in the power sector total 11.3 million worldwide.
Across the clean energy sectors, jobs in low-carbon generation, mainly solar and wind, amount to 7.8 million on par with the oil sector.
Employment in vehicle manufacturing, which stands at 13.6 million globally, employs 10% of its workforce for the manufacture of electric vehicles, their components and batteries.
Women are strongly under-represented in the energy sector. Despite making up 39% of global employment, women account for only 16% of traditional energy sectors captured in dedicated labor classifications, the report found.
- Fastest growth expected this year
The IEA expects the energy sector to see its fastest employment growth in recent years in 2022, however, high input costs and inflationary pressures will add to hiring and supply chain challenges already present in some regions and subsectors.
Energy jobs are roughly equally distributed across the fuel supply sector at 21 million, the power sector with 20 million, and energy efficiency and vehicle manufacturing with 24 million.
The Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than half of energy employment.
'This reflects rapidly expanding energy infrastructure in the region and access to lower-cost labor that has enabled the emergence of manufacturing hubs that serve both local and export markets, notably for solar, electric vehicles and batteries. China alone accounts for 30% of the global energy workforce,' the report said.
- Clean energy jobs grow in all scenarios
The IEA's Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario predicts that 14 million new clean energy jobs will be created by 2030 while another 16 million will switch to new positions in clean energy sectors.
'Countries around the world are responding to the current crisis by seeking to accelerate the growth of homegrown clean energy industries. The regions that make this move will see huge growth in jobs,' IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said.
'Seizing this opportunity requires skilled workers. Governments, companies, labor representatives and educators must come together to develop the programs and accreditations needed to cultivate this workforce and ensure the jobs created are quality jobs that can attract a diverse workforce,' he noted.
About 45% of the world’s energy workers are in high-skilled occupations, compared with around 25% of the wider economy.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr