A new report shows the solar workforce is the fastest-growing sector in the global clean energy market, accounting for one-third of renewables employment.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released its “Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review” – the 10th edition of the report – in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, which provides the latest estimates of global renewable energy employment and an overview of the renewable energy employment landscape as of 2022.
The report discusses deployment trends and policy contexts in selected countries.
This latest edition reveals there were 13.7 million direct and indirect jobs in renewable energy worldwide in 2022, demonstrating a steady increase in the past decade from 7.3 million jobs in 2012.
Global solar employment rose from 4.3 million in 2021 to 4.9 million in 2022.
A majority of the world’s solar manufacturing is in China, which employs 2.76 million workers in the sector. India is the second largest photovoltaic producing nation, with a workforce of 281,400 people, followed by the US, with 264,000 solar workers.
The European Union accounts for 11 per cent of the international solar workforce, with 540,000 employees.
The representation of women in the global solar industry was higher than any other sector in renewable energy in 2022, with 40 per cent of the workforce being female.
