How can we measure the number of green jobs

Current Issue Note 62 explores the recently released experimental estimates of green jobs produced for the first time by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in September 2023.

As there is currently no agreed upon definition of “green” jobs from which official statistics can be produced, the ONS used three methods to estimate green jobs, namely an industry, occupation and firm-based approach.

• The industry approach finds that the number of full-time equivalent (FTEs) green jobs in the UK increased from 507,100 FTEs in 2015 to 526,400 in 2020. Two activities accounted for the close to 40% of green job FTEs in 2020, namely energy efficient products and waste management.
• Using the green occupation approach finds that more than 1 in 4 working adults (26%) in England describe any part of their job as one that would qualify as a green job. The share was 25% in London, below the high of 33% of working adults in both the Northeast and the East Midlands. Groups who were more likely to describe any part of their jobs as a green job were working people aged 30-49 years, men, working adults with an O level qualification/ GCSE grade A-C qualification and those from Asian or Asian British ethnicities.
• The firm-based approach highlights that a small number of industries contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Three industries, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning; manufacturing; and transportation and storage, accounted for over 61% of total GHG emissions in 2021. These industries employed 3.8 million people, or 15% of total UK employees.

Estimates of green jobs produced by the ONS complement previous analysis undertaken by GLA Economics to identify green skills and jobs by analysing online job postings produced by Lightcast as well as identifying green occupations in London.