For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 29, 2012 USDL-12-1291
Technical information:(202) 691-6599 * gtpinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/gtp
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES -- AUGUST 2011
About three-quarters of business establishments reported the use of at least one green
technology or practice during August 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Green technologies and practices (GTP) are those that lessen the environmental
impact of an establishment’s operations. About 854,700 jobs, representing approximately
0.7 percent of total U.S. employment, were held by workers who spent more than half of
their time involved in green technologies and practices in August 2011. Over one-quarter
of these GTP jobs were in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations or
in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.
These data are from the Green Technologies and Practices survey, a survey of business
establishments designed to collect data on establishments’ use of green technologies
and practices and the occupations of workers who spend more than half of their time
involved in green technologies and practices. More information about the GTP survey
is provided in the Technical Note.
Use of green technologies and practices by business establishments
--Seventy-five percent of business establishments reported the use of at least
one green technology or practice during the August survey reference period.
(See table 1.)
--The two most frequently reported types of green technologies and practices
were those that improve energy efficiency within the establishment, reported
by 57 percent of establishments, and those that reduce the creation of waste
materials as a result of operations, reported by 55 percent of establishments.
The least commonly used green technology or practice was generating electricity,
heat, or fuel from renewable sources primarily for use within the establishment,
reported by about 2 percent of establishments. (See table 1.)
--Information and educational services were among the industries with the highest
incidence of green technologies and practices, with 84 and 81 percent of
establishments reporting the use of at least one green technology or practice,
respectively. The industries with the lowest incidence of green technologies
and practices were mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (49 percent)
and transportation and warehousing (61 percent). (See table 2.)
--The percentage of establishments reporting the use of at least one green
technology or practice varied by region from 72 percent in the South to 77
percent in the West. The general pattern of green technologies and practices
usage was similar across all four Census regions, with improving energy
efficiency and reducing the creation of waste materials the most commonly
reported practices, and generating energy from renewable sources the least
commonly reported practice. (See table 1.)
--About 25 percent of establishments reported using only 1 of the 6 types of
green technologies and practices listed on the GTP survey form, and an
additional 26 percent reported using two green technologies and practices.
Nine percent of establishments reported using four or more green technologies
and practices. (See table 3.)
GTP employment by region and by industry
--About 854,700 jobs, representing 0.7 percent of total U.S. employment, were
held by workers who spent more than half of their time involved in green
technologies and practices during the survey reference period. The South had
267,600 GTP jobs, representing about 31 percent of total GTP employment. About
26 percent of GTP employment was in the West, 23 percent in the Midwest, and
20 percent in the Northeast. (See table 4.)
--The industries with the highest levels of GTP employment included administrative
and waste services (151,900) and construction (134,100). GTP employment as a
percent of industry employment ranged from 2.3 percent in construction to 0.1
percent in finance and insurance and information. (See table 5.)
GTP employment by occupation
--Over one-quarter of all GTP jobs were in the building and grounds cleaning
and maintenance occupational group or in the installation, maintenance, and
repair occupational group. The transportation and material moving; production;
and construction and extraction occupational groups made up an additional 23
percent of GTP employment. Education, training, and library occupations and
arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations were among the
occupational groups with the lowest GTP employment. (See table 6.)
--Detailed occupations with the largest number of GTP jobs included janitors
and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners, with 56,700 GTP jobs;
heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (37,300);
and general maintenance and repair workers (26,000). (See table 6.)
--Among occupations with at least 2,500 GTP jobs, the highest paying included
general and operations managers, with an annual mean wage of $103,780 for GTP
jobs; construction managers ($83,480); and civil engineers ($82,810). The
lowest paying occupations included maids and housekeeping cleaners ($17,950)
and farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse ($21,630). (See
table 6.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Differences between Green Technologies and Practices (GTP) and |
| Green Goods and Services (GGS) employment estimates |
| |
|GTP employment is an estimate of the number of jobs in which workers spend |
|more than half of their time involved in technologies and practices that |
|make their establishment's production processes more environmentally friendly or|
|use fewer natural resources. The GTP estimate is a measure of the BLS process |
|approach to green jobs. The separate Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey |
|measures the output approach to green jobs by identifying establishments |
|that produce green goods and services. The GGS measure of green employment is |
|based on the proportion of revenue the establishment derives from producing |
|green goods and services. The GGS employment estimate includes the workers |
|directly involved in producing such goods and services as well as other |
|employees of the establishment. |
| |
|GTP and GGS employment are based on two distinct concepts. For this reason, |
|users should not sum the estimates to get a count of "total" green employment |
|nor should they consider the two estimates a range of the number of green |
|jobs. Users should decide which of the approaches best suits their analytical |
|needs. GTP and GGS estimates cannot be compared to each other to provide a |
|measure of the change in green employment over time. |
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------