Green jobs and business creation gave a boost to the California economy during the 13 years ending in 2008, a new report shows. But the study fails to measure the impact of the great recession of 2008 and 2009.
California is among the greenest of the 50 states. So it is no surprise both the number of new businesses and employment would jump. What comes as a surprise is the broad dispersion of the jobs across the state. They are not limited to the heavily populated coast.
The study, from Next 10, finds the state had 159,000 green jobs in 2008, or less than 1 percent of total statewide employment.
Still, the total was up 36 percent during the period, while overall employment rose just 13 percent. During the 13 years, green businesses multiplied 45 percent.
The state capital, Sacramento saw the greatest rise in positions, followed by San Diego, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and Orange County.
While the San Francisco Bay Area had the greatest number of solar energy related jobs, the San Joaquin Valley was biggest in wind energy, Sacramento showed a focus in geothermal and southern California favored alternative fuels and motor vehicles.
Unfortunately, the study didn’t try to assess the impact of the sour economy of the past year. The growth of jobs has likely come to a near halt.
Regional Job Growth, Source: Next 10
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