Green Jobs Growing in Connecticut, Led by Transportation

The transportation and warehousing industry is Connecticut’s largest employer of green jobs, according to data  complied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Connecticut had 39,207 green jobs in 2010, the first year statistics were available. This represents 2.5 percent of the state workforce, slightly better than the national average of 2.4 percent, according to the BLS data as reported by the Hartford Business Journal. Connecticut’s largest green private sector is transportation and warehousing with 8,238 jobs, followed by manufacturing with 5,071; then administrative and waste services with 4,764; professional, scientific and technical services with 3,443; and utilities with 3,215.  BLS limited data to jobs in businesses producing goods and providing services that benefit the environment or conserve resources.

In 2010, Connecticut had 2,932 green construction jobs, according to BLS. The state government predicts that will grow to 22,602 over the next 10 years with green construction investment more than $1 billion annually. Examples of green jobs in the transportation sector include bus drivers, taxi drivers and employees of transit systems such as CT Transit. Green jobs in the utilities include those working at nuclear power plants, such as the Millstone Power Station in Waterford.