Characteristics of low-carbon jobs
Saussay et al. in this paper provide evidence on the characteristics of low-carbon jobs in the US using comprehensive online job postings data between 2010-2019. They use a new three-step procedure to accurately isolate low-carbon activities by combining natural language processing and expert surveys. The authors’ approach reveals how low-carbon jobs compare in terms of geographical distribution, skill requirements (technical, digital, sustainability, interpersonal, management) and wages vis-a-vis fossil fuel or similar jobs within occupational groups, such as engineers or construction workers. Their findings include:
- Low-carbon job ads require more technical, digital, and sustainability skills compared to generic job ads across occupations like engineers, technicians, scientists, construction, installation/maintenance, and transportation.
- High-carbon job ads require fewer technical and digital skills compared to generic ads for engineers. In particular, low-carbon ads require more technical skills than high-carbon ones.
- There is limited evidence of wage premia for low-carbon jobs compared to similar generic jobs: In the early period 2010-2012, low-carbon jobs had a positive and significant wage premium in most occupations analyzed, ranging from 2% for engineers to 16% for transportation workers. However, in the later period 2017-2019, the low-carbon wage premium declined substantially and even turned negative in some cases like for engineers (-4%) and construction workers (-2%), though it remained positive for technicians (+4%). Over time, the low-carbon wage premium fell from +7% to +4% for installation workers, +6% to 0% for business specialists, and +13% to 0% for scientists.
- The decline in low-carbon wage premia over time, especially relative to high-carbon jobs, suggests inadequate compensation for the higher skills required, which can hinder the transition.
Who’s fit for the low-carbon transition? Emerging skills and wage gaps in job ad data
Authors: Aurélien Saussay, Misato Sato, Francesco Vona, Layla O’Kane
From LSE, Sciences Po, University of Milan, FEEM
The effect of investments in renewable energy on local employment
Fabra et al. in this paper explore whether renewable energy deployment creates new jobs. They focus on Spain which has already gone through a renewable energy revolution. In particular, they look at the monthly variation in the timing and size of the renewable investments across more than 3,900 Spanish municipalities over 13 years. The authors use data on renewable energy investments (solar PV and wind) at the municipality level from 2006-2018 from an administrative registry (PRETOR) which includes plant capacity, location, and start-up dates. The employment data at the municipality level is from social security registries, 2003-2021. The key findings are:
- Solar investments increase local employment during construction, with a multiplier of around 1.5 jobs-year/MW in the year before startup. The effect declines but remains positive in the maintenance phase.
- Wind investments have small and statistically insignificant effects on local employment, both before and after startup.
- The employment effects are larger when measured at the county rather than municipality level, suggesting some jobs go to nearby areas.
- The unemployment effects are smaller than the employment effects, implying some new jobs go to non-local workers.
- The differences between solar and wind likely reflect the more specialized skills required for wind, making it harder to hire locally.
Do Renewable Energies Create Local Jobs?
Authors: Natalia Fabra, Eduardo Gutiérrez, Aitor Lacuesta, Roberto Ramos
From: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Banco de España
