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Biden clean energy plan key to restoring industry job losses, says U.S. official
(Reuters, 19 Jul 2021) The U.S. energy workforce shed 840,000 jobs in 2020 as the global health crisis sapped demand for transportation fuels.
The U.S. energy sector lost 10% of its workforce last year due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report unveiled on Monday by U.S. government officials, who said President Joe Biden's clean energy plan was critical to reviving the industry.
The U.S. energy workforce, from fossil fuels to solar power, shed 840,000 jobs in 2020 as the global health crisis sapped demand for transportation fuels and slowed new projects, according to the annual U.S. Energy Employment Report.
The largest declines were in petroleum and natural gas fuels with a combined loss of 186,000 jobs, or 21% of their workforce, according to the report. Employment in the wind energy industry was among the only sectors to grow, rising a modest 1.8%.
The Biden administration is pushing several initiatives to boost clean energy industries as part of a sweeping infrastructure package being hashed out by Congress, arguing that a transition away from fossil fuels can create millions of good-paying union jobs while countering climate change.
Reuters, 19 Jul 2021: Biden clean energy plan key to restoring industry job losses, says U.S. official
