Number of solar jobs drops 14% in California and nearly 4% nationwide
After several years of growth, the number of jobs in the solar energy sector took a hit in 2017, with California absorbing the biggest blow.
Solar employment dropped 14% in California last year, which was largely responsible for a 3.8% decline nationwide, according to the National Solar Jobs Census released this week.
It was the first time those jobs have dropped in the history of that annual census, which first came out in 2010.
California lost 13,636 jobs in the industry last year, more than any other state.
"Being the biggest solar state, it's not surprising that California takes the biggest hit," said Ed Gilliland, senior director for the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit in Washington that supports solar energy adoption and releases the jobs census each year.
California is home to about 40% of the nation's solar capacity and employs seven times as many solar workers as any other state.