Minnesota's Emerging Green Economy: Green Jobs Report 2011

The purposes of this study were to:

• “Define the impact of the green economy on the labor market in Minnesota;

• Quantify hiring demand for green jobs over a two-year period;

• Characterize green jobs in terms of occupational, industrial, and geographic composition;

• Collect comprehensive data on the skill, training, and certification requirements of green job vacancies to identify skill gaps and help students and career seekers prepare for in-demand green careers” (p. 5).

“Findings from this study have been used to develop career information for job seekers, students and general career exploration. The Minnesota Green Careers Portal can be found at www.MnGreenCareers.org” (p.6). (Author: Abstractor)

Characteristics of Minnesota’s green job vacancies • “Green job vacancies represented 2.5 percent of overall hiring demand in Minnesota between fourth quarter 2009 and second quarter 2011…By firm size, very small establishments (fewer than 10 employers) had the highest concentration of green job vacancies (20 percent)” (p. 6). • “While green vacancies were reported in a wide variety of industries, the greatest numbers were in Construction and Manufacturing” (pg. 6). • “Over half of all green job vacancies were concentrated in Installation, Maintenance, and Repair; Architecture and Engineering; Construction; and Management and Business Specialists” (p. 6-7). • “Overall, green vacancies tend to be higher quality than total vacancies with predominantly full time and permanent/non-seasonal opportunities and high wages” (p. 7). Education, Skill and Knowledge Requirements • “Green vacancies require a higher education level than other vacancies. The most common degrees required to work in green jobs were bachelor’s and vocation degrees, while the most highly demanded fields of study were engineering and science” (pg. 7). The Future of Minnesota’s Green Jobs • “[Although] growth in hiring demand for green-related work was virtually identical to that in the overall economy,…54 percent of positions were new rather than caused by employees leaving. Since newly created positions represent growth openings created by economic expansion, this finding demonstrates the emerging nature of Minnesota’s green economy” (pg. 7). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2011
• Author(s): Leibert, Alessia
• Organizational Author(s): Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies