For the first time since the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center started its annual count in 2010, Massachusetts saw a decrease in clean energy jobs in 2020 though MassCEC officials said gains in 2021 show the underlying strength and potential of the industry.
The clean energy industry ended 2019 with 113,968 workers. But the onset and early months of the pandemic led to the loss of 19,800 jobs, about a 17 percent drop, and by mid-2020, the industry’s workforce here had fallen to about 94,168 workers, MassCEC said in its annual industry report for 2021.
The second half of 2020 saw the return of about 7,000 jobs, resulting in a net loss of 12,800 clean energy jobs or about 11 percent of the workforce in 2020, MassCEC said. At the end of 2020, there were 101,208 people working in the industry in Massachusetts. Last year saw that rebound continued, but at a slower pace…