How Green Is Indiana?
Many economists, workforce analysts and policymakers across the nation assert that the burgeoning green economy may provide new business and employment opportunities.1 Mitigating climate change, achieving health benefits from preventing pollution, reducing dependence on foreign oil and exploring new business opportunities and job creation potential are all reasons for studying the green sector.
However, traditional information sources and databases on industries and occupations are currently inadequate to accurately measure the number of green jobs in the economy. This article highlights the results of the first survey of Indiana employers to quantify the number of green jobs in Indiana. It focuses on the number and broad activities of current green jobs in Indiana and serves as a baseline to track future green industry growth.
What Is the Indiana Green Jobs Survey?
In the second quarter of 2010, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Business Research Center conducted the Indiana Green Jobs Survey. The survey involved a sample of 13,520 firms, more than half of which responded. Survey respondents represented a broad spectrum of private as well as public sector industries.
This research was conducted as part of the Driving Change Project, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.2
Defining Green Jobs
The survey asked employers about the green jobs at their locations. The following definitions of “green” helped respondents determine whether a job was green or not:
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Green Economy: Industries providing products or services related to renewable energy, increased energy efficiency, clean transportation and fuels, agriculture and natural resource conservation, and pollution prevention or environmental cleanup.
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Green Jobs: Primary occupations engaged in generating a firm's green-related products or services, as well as other support jobs created by the firm's green-related revenue.
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Green-Related Industry: An industry likely to contain firms that produce parts, products or services related to the green economy. Industries and firms were classified as green-related based on their primary product or service, not based on whether they were taking internal steps to use less energy or be more environmentally responsible.
- Green-Related Occupations: Green-related industries frequently use job titles that are green or green-related. These green-related occupations have a variety of educational and skill levels, such as:
- Scientists and engineers involved in energy research
- Skilled production workers in manufacturing
- Critical occupations at small, start-up firms, such as technical sales staff
- Construction laborers and skilled trade workers used in LEED construction projects
Survey Results
Indiana currently has an estimated 46,879 direct green jobs. Table 1 shows the distribution of those jobs among five core green activity areas. Green jobs accounted for 1.7 percent of total employment in Indiana.
Table 1: Summary of Indiana Direct Green Jobs by Core Area
| Core Area | Direct Green Jobs | Percentage of All Direct Green Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Total Direct Green Jobs | 46,879 | 100.0% |
| Increasing Energy Efficiency | 15,715 | 33.5% |
| Agriculture and Natural Resource Conservation | 10,334 | 22.0% |
| Pollution Prevention and Environmental Cleanup | 9,003 | 19.2% |
| Renewable Energy Production | 4,152 | 8.9% |
| Clean Transportation and Fuels | 2,234 | 4.8% |
| Green Jobs Not Assigned to a Core Area | 5,442 | 11.6% |
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Most of the information collected in the survey reflects only “direct” green jobs: those employees whose primary function is the production of green-related products or services for a particular firm. The presence of direct green business activities, however, may also generate additional jobs to support those direct green activities. These support jobs range from accounting staff to human resources staff to clerical staff. For example, a manufacturing firm may have 20 machinists building wind turbine blades, as well as one accountant and two clerical positions that support the wind turbine business. Without the wind turbine blade revenue, the three support jobs would not exist.
Thus, in addition to collecting data on the number of direct green jobs, the survey asked firms to quantify the number of jobs that support their green business activities. The survey results show that an additional 17,437 jobs support green business activities in Indiana.
Green Jobs by Core Green Area
Core areas illustrate the primary green business activities that generate jobs in the Indiana economy. Figure 1 presents the distribution of green jobs in Indiana by core area according to the survey results.
Figure 1: Distribution of Indiana Direct Green Jobs by Core Area
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Considering the importance of the auto industry in Indiana, the clean transportation and fuels core area accounts for a surprisingly small share of the state's green jobs, less than 5 percent of the total. However, bear in mind that Indiana produces many auto parts that may or may not be a component of a green vehicle.
In contrast, increasing energy efficiency (most closely associated with the construction industry) accounted for 33.5 percent of green jobs in Indiana. The next largest area was agriculture and natural resource conservation, with 22 percent of the state's green jobs.
Indiana's green jobs span across a wide range of industries. Construction, services and trade accounted for well over 60 percent of green jobs. Of the 17 industries presented in Table 2, only six industries were engaged in manufacturing and accounted for a mere 6,660 of the 40,160 jobs detailed in the table.
Table 2: Top Indiana Industries Generating Direct Green Jobs
| NAICS | Industry | Green Jobs | Total Jobs | Green Jobs as a Percent of Industry Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 238 | Specialty Trade Contractors | 10,411 | 76,681 | 13.6% |
| 561 | Administrative and Support Services | 5,826 | 132,113 | 4.4% |
| 541 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5,322 | 94,278 | 5.6% |
| 423 | Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | 4,483 | 69,569 | 6.4% |
| 924 | Administration of Environmental Quality Programs | 2,809 | 4,475 | 62.8% |
| 325 | Chemical Manufacturing | 1,947 | 29,337 | 6.6% |
| 236 | Construction of Buildings | 1,872 | 30,525 | 6.1% |
| 336 | Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 1,709 | 78,736 | 2.2% |
| 332 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 1,350 | 45,696 | 3.0% |
| 811 | Repair and Maintenance | 919 | 25,800 | 3.6% |
| 111 | Crop Production | 781 | 5,950 | 13.1% |
| 921 | General Government Administration | 704 | 86,073 | 0.8% |
| 333 | Machinery Manufacturing | 687 | 36,143 | 1.9% |
| 321 | Wood Product Manufacturing | 592 | 11,481 | 5.2% |
| 326 | Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | 374 | 31,210 | 1.2% |
| 221 | Utilities | 295 | 17,081 | 1.7% |
| 112 | Animal Production | 82 | 5,410 | 1.5% |
| 999 | All Other Combined Industries | 6,716 | 449,615 | 1.5% |
Source: IDWD, using QCEW second quarter 2009 data for total jobs; IBRC,using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data for green jobs
Green Jobs by Occupations
Table 3 lists the occupations in Indiana with the most green jobs, according to the survey results.
There does not appear to be a common theme among the more prominent green occupations in Indiana. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers reported the largest share of green-related jobs in Indiana, accounting for about more than 6 percent of Indiana’s green employment. There was a smattering of production occupations (manufacturing), construction jobs and transportation and material handling occupations.
Counterintuitively, occupations that are obviously green, such as environmental scientists and specialists and environmental engineers, command a smaller share of the occupation ledger at about 1 percent each. This may be explained by the fact that these positions are taken up by comparatively fewer, but more highly qualified, individuals.
Also surprisingly, agriculture-related jobs do not appear to be an important source of green jobs in Indiana. Agriculture-related occupations supplied about 4 percent of green jobs reported in the survey.
Table 3: Leading Indiana Direct Green Occupations
| SOC | Occupation | Total Direct Green Jobs | Percent of Total Direct Green Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | Total, All Green Occupations | 46,879 | 100.0% |
| 37-3011 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 2,990 | 6.4% |
| 47-2111 | Electricians | 1,906 | 4.1% |
| 41-4012 | Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products | 1,629 | 3.5% |
| 17-2051 | Civil engineers | 1,511 | 3.2% |
| 47-2131 | Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall | 1,501 | 3.2% |
| 49-9021 | Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 1,375 | 2.9% |
| 43-9061 | Office clerks, general | 1,307 | 2.8% |
| 53-7062 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 1,269 | 2.7% |
| 45-2092 | Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse | 1,057 | 2.3% |
| 37-2011 | Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 1,041 | 2.2% |
| 51-1011 | First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | 918 | 2.0% |
| 17-2141 | Mechanical engineers | 873 | 1.9% |
| 11-1021 | General and operations managers | 811 | 1.7% |
| 51-2092 | Team assemblers | 630 | 1.3% |
| 49-9042 | Maintenance and repair workers, general | 616 | 1.3% |
| 47-1011 | First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers | 589 | 1.3% |
| 47-2181 | Roofers | 570 | 1.2% |
| 43-3031 | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 568 | 1.2% |
| 47-2031 | Carpenters | 548 | 1.2% |
| 53-3032 | Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | 520 | 1.1% |
| 17-2071 | Electrical engineers | 501 | 1.1% |
| 11-9021 | Construction managers | 495 | 1.1% |
| 19-2041 | Environmental scientists and specialists, including health | 474 | 1.0% |
| 49-3023 | Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 473 | 1.0% |
| 51-4081 | Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 469 | 1.0% |
| 17-2081 | Environmental engineers | 457 | 1.0% |
| 11-9141 | Property, real estate, and community association managers | 425 | 0.9% |
| 11-3011 | Administrative services managers | 401 | 0.9% |
| 45-2041 | Graders and sorters, agricultural products | 389 | 0.8% |
| 41-4011 | Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products | 369 | 0.8% |
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Table 4 displays the distribution of green-related occupations by core area. Energy efficiency is the largest core green area in terms of direct jobs. The majority of occupations in the energy efficiency area are construction-related, with electricians and insulation workers leading the occupation list.
Agriculture and natural resource conservation is Indiana’s second largest core area for occupations. In keeping with Indiana’s many farms, nurseries and greenhouses, the state has a significant number of farm workers and material movers. The largest occupation in the core area is landscaping and groundskeeping workers. This core area represents almost 80 percent of all the direct green jobs for this occupation.
The dominance of Indiana’s automobile industry is not very evident from the green job titles in clean transportation and fuels, with only two production occupations making the top five occupations list in this core area. Relatively few engineers inhabit Indiana’s clean transportation and fuels core area, but one can speculate that as demand and production of fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles continues to grow, the share of jobs involved with the research, engineering and production in this core area will likely increase.
Table 4: Top Five Occupations in Each Core Green Area
| SOC | Occupation | Total Direct Green Jobs | Direct Green Jobs in Core Area | Share of Core Area Direct Green Jobs by Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increasing Energy Efficiency | 10,065 | |||
| 47-2111 | Electricians | 1,906 | 1,885 | 98.9% |
| 47-2131 | Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall | 1,501 | 1,501 | 100.0% |
| 49-9021 | Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 1,375 | 1,224 | 89.0% |
| 17-2051 | Civil engineers | 1,511 | 1,197 | 79.2% |
| 41-4012 | Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products | 1,629 | 1,178 | 72.3% |
| Agricultural and Natural Resource Conservation | 6,306 | |||
| 37-3011 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 2,990 | 2,377 | 79.5% |
| 45-2092 | Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse | 1,057 | 1,008 | 95.4% |
| 53-7062 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 1,269 | 523 | 41.2% |
| 43-9061 | Office clerks, general | 1,307 | 466 | 35.7% |
| 11-9141 | Property, real estate, and community association managers | 425 | 418 | 98.4% |
| Pollution Prevention and Environmental Cleanup | 5,870 | |||
| 37-2011 | Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 1,041 | 952 | 91.5% |
| 37-3011 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 2,990 | 597 | 20.0% |
| 53-7062 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 1,269 | 555 | 43.7% |
| 11-1021 | General and operations managers | 811 | 446 | 55.0% |
| 17-2081 | Environmental engineers | 457 | 427 | 93.4% |
| Renewable Energy Production | 2,429 | |||
| 51-8091 | Chemical plant and system operators | 280 | 280 | 100.0% |
| 51-1011 | First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | 918 | 248 | 27.0% |
| 43-9061 | Office clerks, general | 1,307 | 247 | 18.9% |
| 41-4011 | Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products | 369 | 200 | 54.2% |
| 49-9042 | Maintenance and repair workers, general | 616 | 183 | 29.7% |
| Clean Transportation and Fuels | 1,348 | |||
| 51-4081 | Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 469 | 345 | 73.6% |
| 53-3021 | Bus drivers, transit and intercity | 297 | 297 | 100.0% |
| 49-3023 | Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 473 | 167 | 35.3% |
| 17-2141 | Mechanical engineers | 873 | 140 | 16.0% |
| 51-2092 | Team assemblers | 630 | 96 | 15.2% |
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Filling Vacancies
Figure 2 shows the percentage of employers that, having identified the occupation as a direct green job, expected recruitment difficulties in the future. With the exception of mechanical engineers and foresters, the occupations that employers anticipated difficulty in recruiting were those with low to medium levels of specialized skills and education.
Figure 2: Green Occupations Where Employers Anticipate Potential Recruiting Difficulties
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Unique Skills
Figure 3 shows the 10 occupations that more than 70 percent of responding employers identified as requiring unique green skills. This has implications for training programs, as individual green occupations will differ in their need for specialized training. This also has implications for incumbent workers who increasingly find themselves working on green projects, as well as potential new green workers hoping to transition into the green economy.
Figure 3: Occupations that Require Unique Skills for Green-Related Projects
Source: IBRC, using Indiana Green Jobs Survey data
Training
In an attempt to measure the future training needs of employers, the survey asked about the likely mix of training required for their green-related workforce. To keep the survey simple, employers indicated the proportions of these future green jobs requiring formal or informal-on-the-job training. Survey respondents expected that nearly 52 percent of their future green-related employee training would be conducted on the job, while only about 21 percent of respondents stated that their training needs would be formal. (Respondents were not required to answer the question or to ensure that the sum of their percentages equaled 100.)
Summary
The green jobs survey provides a glimpse into a phenomenon that, until now, has remained virtually unexamined in the state of Indiana. Green jobs in the Hoosier state currently comprise 1.7 percent of the total workforce. Manufacturing and construction have the greatest concentrations of green jobs in Indiana. These industries, as the experience of the Great Recession shows, are also more sensitive to economic cycles.
But as the green economy expands, Hoosiers may realize a variety of benefits. First, greener energy production will necessitate the manufacture of new equipment for electricity generation. An emphasis on sustainable energy sources would help reduce the state’s carbon footprint and improve air and water quality. Expanding green and sustainable energy production would also support national goals of meeting future energy needs while reducing reliance on foreign oil.
Major benefits may also accrue to Indiana’s workforce in the form of new and diverse employment opportunities. By moving the economy toward renewable and clean energy, Indiana can establish a more diverse mix of industries and be better positioned to capitalize on growing industries. Indiana’s long-term goal has been to increase the diversification of the state economy and invest in the jobs of the future. Existing Indiana companies can also gain by transforming their products, parts and services to supply the expanding green economy.
To read the full report, Indiana Green Jobs: Employment Prospects in the Green Economy, visit www.drivingworkforcechange.org/greenjobs.asp.
Notes
- The word "assert" was chosen with care as some of the claims made, and the hopes raised, about green jobs have recently been proven unfounded. The results of the green jobs agenda have some people questioning its value, as in Aaron Glantz, "Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises," New York Times, August 18, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/us/19bcgreen.html, and Jonah Goldberg, “America's 'Green' Quagmire,” Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2011, www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg-green-20110823,0,4353091.column.
- Visit www.drivingworkforcechange.org for more information about this consortium.
Timothy F. Slaper, Ph.D.
Director of Economic Analysis, Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University Kelley School of Business