Energy Workforce Fast Facts
With today’s focus on historic workforce development priorities for the energy ecosystem, data and credible resources are essential to those looking to make informed decisions to guide action. CEWD is proud to serve as the information hub for practitioners, policymakers, educators, workforce systems and others at the front lines of attracting and developing a highly skilled workforce.
Today’s Energy Workforce Needs & Opportunities
- 32 million people are expected to be hired for energy and infrastructure jobs in a ten-year period (Brookings, 2024).
- 81,000 electricians must be hired and trained every year for a decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 2025c).
- There’s a projected shortfall of 320,000 welders by 2029 (American Welding Society, 2025).
- There is a projected need for 376,000 nuclear workers by 2050 (Department of Energy, n.d).
- More than half the current mining workforce will be retired and replaced by 2029. In 2023 only 162 bachelor of science degrees in mining engineering were awarded in the US (Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2025).
By the Numbers
Total Energy Jobs in 2025: 8.5 million, accounting for 5.4% of all U.S. jobs (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025), led by jobs in:
- Electric Power Generation (933,800), with a median wage of $65,430.
- Transmission, Distribution, and Storage (1,463,700), with a median wage of $59,840.
- Fuels (1,054,400), with a median wage of $62,780.
- Energy Efficiency (2,381,700), with a median wage of $59,390.
- Motor Vehicles and Components (2,633,100), with a median wage of $53,620.
Skilled Labor in the Energy Workforce: 12% of the energy workforce is unionized (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025).
Veterans in the Energy Workforce: 9% of the energy workforce has served in the military, compared to 5% of the national workforce (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025).
Future Hiring Demand: Energy employers are forecast to hire 32 million people between 2025 and 2035, that’s 17 million new workers and 15 million replacement workers (Brookings, 2024).
Growth of the Nuclear Workforce: The nuclear workforce is expected to grow by 5.7% from 2024 to 2025 (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025). The nuclear workforce in the United States is expected to nearly triple by 2050, with a considerable ramp-up by 2035 (U.S. Department of Energy, 2024).
Workforce Development Facts to Know
Talent Shortage: 70% of US employers are experiencing a talent and skills gap within their existing workforce (Manpower, 2024). 76% of Energy & Utilities employers are experiencing a talent and skills gap within their existing workforce (Manpower, 2024).
Skill Requirements Are Changing: One-third of the skills needed for the average job have changed in just the last three years, highlighting the rapid pace of evolution in the employment landscape (Lightcast, 2025). 32% of the skills required for the average job are different in 2024 than they were in 2021 (Lightcast, 2025) By 2028, employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted (World Economic Forum, 2023).
Navigating Skills Gaps: 52% of jobs require skills training beyond a high school, but not a four-year degree. But too few of America’s workers — just 43% — have had access to the skills training necessary to fill these in-demand careers (National Skills Coalition, 2025).
US Labor Force Participation: The US labor force participation rate was 62.6% as of May 2025, indicating a significant portion of the population is not actively participating in the labor market (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
Low Confidence in Long-Term Skills Readiness: 72% of CEOs say talent gaps and shortages are their top business challenge (Lightcast, 2025). Over half of buisness leaders, 51%, are concerned about a future talent shortage (Workday 2025).
Talent Gaps as Top Business Challenge: A substantial 72% of CEOs identify talent gaps and shortages as their primary business challenge (Workday, 2025).
Failure to Attract Talent as a Major Risk: Companies acknowledge that the failure to attract talent is now a significant risk, ranking as the fourth biggest risk they face. 33% of companies report already suffering losses due to this in the past year (Lightcast, 2025).
Aging Workforce in Traditional Energy: Traditional energy sectors like oil and gas face a “great crew change” as baby boomers retire, exacerbating talent shortages (Heidrick & Struggles, 2022).
2024 Talent Trends: Over 3 in 4 organizations have had difficulty recruiting for full-time regular positions while nearly half have had difficulties retaining full-time regular employees in the last 12 months. Among organizations experiencing recruitment difficulties in the last 12 months, the top three challenges include a low number of applicants (60%), competition from other employers (55%), and an increase in candidate “ghosting” (46%). Organizations in certain industries continue to struggle to make meaningful progress on their most difficult-to-fill positions. Positions in the skilled trades was the second most difficult-to-fill positions in 2024, with 46% reporting these positions as “very difficult” to fill (SHRM Talent Trends, 2024).
High Demand for Electricians: The U.S. will need an average of 73,500 job openings for electricians every year through 2032 due to growing demand and retirements (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupation Outlook Handbook, 2024).
State-By-State Workforce Development Facts to Know
State-By-State: Texas (990,100), California (941,500), and Michigan (394,000) had the most energy employment per state; while Wyoming (20,900), North Dakota (16,500), and West Virginia (15,300) had the most energy employment per capita (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025).
Energy Employment Per 100,000 Workers by Geography: (U.S. Department of Energy, 2025).
For more state-by-state and county-by-county energy and employment data, see the 2025 USEER State Reports and 2025 USEER County Data.
References
AWS – highlighting the welding workforce demand in the U.S. Welding Workforce Data LIVE. (2025, December 3). https://weldingworkforcedata.com/
Brookings. Glencora Haskins, J. P., Alan Berube, M. M., & Ross, M. (2024). We haven’t yet decided that climate and infrastructure jobs are for everyone, or even that we’ll have enough workers. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/articles/we-havent-yet-decided-that-climate-and-infrastructure-jobs-are-for-everyone-or-even-that-well-have-enough-workers/
CEWD. (2024a). Energy Workforce Primer. Retrieved from https://cewd.org/energy-workforce-primer/
CEWD. (2024b). Workforce Development Maturity Model. Retrieved from https://cewd.org/resources/workforce-development-maturity-model/
E2. (2025). $22 billion in clean energy projects cancelled in first half of 2025; $6.7 billion cancelled in June. Retrieved from https://e2.org/releases/june-25-clean-economy-works/#:~:text=Businesses%20canceled%2C%20closed%2C%20and%20scaled,and%20the%20Clean%20Economy%20Tracker
Energy Workforce Advisory Board. (2024). Strategy for a 21st Century Energy Workforce. Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-09/Strategy for a 21st Century Energy Workforce.pdf
Heidrick & Struggles. (n.d.). The Next Energy Crisis? talent. Retrieved from https://www.heidrick.com/-/media/heidrickcom/publications-and-reports/the-next-energy-crisis-talent.pdf
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2025). Executive summary – energy and AI – Analysis – IEA. Retrieved from https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/executive-summary
Lightcast. (2025a). Lightcast’s workforce risk outlook reveals impending global impact of talent shortfalls. Retrieved from https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/workforce-risk-outlook-press-release
Lightcast. (2025b). With job skills evolving faster than ever, new lightcast report helps organizations adapt. Retrieved from https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/skills-change-us-press-release
Lightcast. (2025c). With job skills evolving faster than ever, new lightcast report helps organizations adapt. Retrieved from https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/skills-change-us-press-release
ManpowerGroup. (2025). 2025 Global Talent Shortage. Retrieved from https://go.manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage
McKinsey & Company. (2025). What is a data center? Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-a-data-center?stcr=B884CE63F1124F43BBBE0D0A7DE18BBF&cid=mgp_opr-eml-alt-mexp-mgp-glb–&hlkid=f175ba4284a543f295965c2f7e4af23b&hctky=15472604&hdpid=6637cb62-e88c-4453-90ff-48fb9836f6ac
National Skills Coalition. (2022). Skills mismatch. Retrieved from https://nationalskillscoalition.org/skills-mismatch/
Nuclear reactor safety training and workforce development program. Energy.gov. (n.d.). https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-safety-training-and-workforce-development-program
SHRM. (2024). 2024 talent trends. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/content/dam/en/shrm/research/2024-talent-trends-research-overall-findings.pdf
Springboard. (2024). Workforce Skills Gap Trends 2024: Survey Report. Retrieved from https://www.springboard.com/blog/business/skills-gap-trends-2024/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025a). Electrical and electronics engineers. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm#:~:text=These%20engineers%20are%20expected%20to,Projected%20Employment%2C%202033
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025b). Employment situation news release – 2025 M04 results. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_05022025.htm
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025c, August 28). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electricians. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm#:~:text=Employment%20of%20electricians%20is%20projected,of%20electricians%20with%20similar%20occupations
U.S. Department of Energy. (2024a). 2024 U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report (USEER). Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer
U.S. Department of Energy. (2025). 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report, National Report (USEER). Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer
U.S. Department of Energy. (2025). 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report, State Reports (USEER). Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer
U.S. Department of Energy. (2025). 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report, County Data (USEER). Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer
U.S. Department of Energy. (2024b). U.S. sets targets to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/us-sets-targets-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Energy,lessons%20learned%20from%20past%20deployments.
Wilson, J., Zimmerman, Z., & Gramlick, R. (2024). Strategic Industries surging: Driving Us Power Demand. Retrieved from https://gridstrategiesllc.com/wp-content/uploads/National-Load-Growth-Report-2024.pdf
Workday. (2025). The Global State of Skills Report | workday. Retrieved from https://forms.workday.com/en-gb/reports/the-global-state-of-skills-report/form.open.html?step=step1_default
Workforce trends in the U.S. Mining Industry. Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. (n.d.). https://www.smenet.org/What-We-Do/Technical-Briefings/Workforce-Trends-in-the-US-Mining-Industry
World Economic Forum. (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/
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