Oregon had 51,402 ‘green jobs’ in 2008

Portland Business Journal
Jun 29, 2009

Three percent of the jobs in Oregon in 2008 were considered “green jobs,” according to the new Oregon Employment Department report "The Greening of Oregon’s Workforce: Jobs, Wages, and Training."

The report, based on a survey of employers, found that 51,402 green jobs accounted for Oregon’s private, state government, and local government employment. Green jobs were reported in all broad industry groups and were spread across 226 occupations.

According to the survey, a green job meets one of the following criteria:

• Increases energy efficiency.

• Produces renewable energy.

• Prevents, reduces or mitigates environmental degradation.

• Cleans up and restores the natural environment.

• Provides education, consulting, policy promotion, accreditation, trading and offsets, or similar services supporting the other categories.

The three industries with the most green jobs were construction, wholesale and retail trade, and administrative and waste services. Combined, these industries accounted for 47 percent of Oregon’s green jobs.

The five occupations with the most green jobs were carpenters, farmworkers, truck drivers, hazardous materials removal workers, and landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Together these workers represented 27 percent of Oregon’s green jobs.

The average wage for green jobs in 2008 was $22.61 per hour. On average, green jobs tended toward slightly higher wages than jobs across the entire economy. Occupations with higher minimum education requirements generally paid higher wages than occupations with little or no required education.

Employers project the number of green jobs will grow 14 percent between 2008 and 2010. Most growth will likely be in the farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, transportation and material moving occupations, and production occupations.