Washington state again finds itself on another list of "best places to be," and this time, it's for jobs in the new "green" clean energy economy. Given record state and national unemployment figures, news of any jobs growth is a welcome relief.
This month, the green research firm Clean Edge released its list of top 15 metro areas in the U.S. for clean-tech jobs, which includes jobs in fields such as renewable energy or energy efficiency. The top "hotbed" for clean-tech jobs is the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area. Seattle/Tacoma/Bremerton earned a seventh-place ranking, just ahead of our neighbors in Portland/Salem.
While specifics as to why each metro region was selected are not explicitly detailed, the study does say rankings were based on an array of data points, including early investment activity, an existing presence of clean-tech jobs and clean-energy patent activity. According to the study, this jobs cycle will differ from others -- like the recent dot-com build ups -- because it is a "highly dispersed phenomenon":
"No one place or region will control any one clean-tech sector. Clusters of clean-tech activity, supported by local technology development, capital flows, and supportive public policies, are springing up across the U.S. and around the world."
Other researchers in the field of clean-tech jobs appear to have a similar view.
By 2007, more than 68,200 businesses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for more than 770,000 green jobs, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.
This is a noteworthy figure in light of employment in other established industries, such as biotech (220,000 positions) or telecomm (989,000). In their June 10 study, "The Clean Energy Economy," Pew reported that these clean-energy jobs are also a mix of white- and blue-collar positions, ranging from scientists and engineers to electricians, machinists and teachers. The field also grew by 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, while total jobs grew by only 3.7 percent.
Colorful news in an otherwise bleak landscape.
