Bureau of Labor Statistics Green Jobs Initiative

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics Green Jobs Initiative Dixie Sommers Bureau of Labor Statistics Association of Public Data Users 2010 Annual Conference September 20, 2010

2. BLS green jobs initiative • Goals are to provide information on: • Number of green jobs and trends over time • Industrial, occupational, and geographic distribution of these jobs • What these jobs pay • Work began in FY 2010

3. Defining green jobs • Definition should be objective and measurable • Use standard classifications to provide comparability to other data • North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) • Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)

4. Defining green jobs • BLS background work • Reviewed the literature • No widely accepted definition • Examined international work • Statistics Canada, Eurostat • Consulted with stakeholders • Federal agencies, industry associations, States • Green Jobs Study Group • http://www.workforceinfocouncil.org/GreenJobs.asp

5. Defining green jobs • Solicited public comment • March 16, 2010, Federal Register Notice • Further consultation with Federal agencies during the comment period • Final definition and summary of comments • Published in the Federal Register

6. Defining green jobs • Two approaches to definition and measurement • Output approach • Identify establishments producing green goods and services • Count the associated jobs • Process approach • Identify establishments using environmentally-friendly production processes • Count the associated jobs

7. BLS green jobs definition Green jobs are either: A.Jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. B. Jobs in which workers’ duties involve making their establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.

8. Categories of green goods and services • Energy from renewable sources • Energy efficient equipment, appliances, buildings and vehicles, and goods and services that improve the energy efficiency of buildings and the efficiency of energy storage and distribution • Pollution mitigation; greenhouse gas reduction; and recycling and reuse goods and services

9. Categories of green goods and services • Organic agriculture; sustainable forestry; and soil, water and wildlife conservation • Governmental and regulatory administration; and education, training, and advocacy goods and services

10. Types of green production processes • Generating energy from renewable sources for use within the establishment • Improving energy efficiency • Reducing or removing pollution or greenhouse gases, and recycling or reusing waste materials or wastewater • Conserving natural resources

11. About the BLS green jobs definition • Based on products or services produced, or duties performed • Does not consider other job aspects • Not considering wages, union membership, worker safety, benefits, career ladders, or similar factors • Users can apply other data

12. About the BLS green jobs definition • Not based on whether workers in green jobs need different skills than those in non-green jobs • O*NET and other types of data address this need

13. About the BLS green jobs definition • Do not have sufficient information and expertise to use a “net impact on the environment” concept to classify goods and services as green or not green • Will need to update as the set of green goods and services evolves over time (e.g., hybrids may become the norm).

14. Identifying green goods and services • Generally designated as green only goods and services that directly benefit the environment • Does not automatically include inputs or distribution of outputs, but evaluates these for direct environmental benefit • Identified 333 detailed NAICS industries where green goods and services are classified. See www.bls.gov/green

15. Identifying green goods and services

16. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey • Sample establishments in industries where green goods and services are classified • Present to respondents a description of green products or services classified in their industry • Request share of revenue accounted for by sale of green goods and services • Use share of revenue as proxy for share of employment

17. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Publication goal and example • For all NAICS codes where green products and services found, publish one or more categories of green employment.

18. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey • Survey instrument development and field testing underway • Sample design underway • Survey collection during FY2011 • Results in FY2012

19. Measuring green goods and services jobs Collection research and test strategy • Phase 1: Cognitive calls • Basic data availability • Response environment • Phase 2: Four panels of survey forms mail-out • Collectability • Question clarity • Forms design • Methodology • Costs, workload, timing • Each panel includes follow-up cognitive calls requesting feedback on the survey forms

20. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Field testing results so far • Revenue is collectable • Environmental or “green” standards seem to be used and understood by respondents • Need to clarify and refine phrasing and layout of questions and instructions • Forms may vary by sector and within a sector, but unique forms for each 6-digit NAICS will not be needed

21. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Administer the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey to establishments in the industry survey sample • Obtain occupational staffing patterns and wages • Overlap of green goods and services survey sample with regular OES sample • Expand OES sample as needed

22. Measuring green goods and services jobs • Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey • Expect to fund States to collect the additional units • Earliest collection will be the May 2011 panel

23. Measuring green production process jobs • Special employer survey to measure jobs related to environmentally-friendly production processes • Does the establishment use green practices or technologies? • If yes, does it employ any workers whose duties relate to these practices or technologies? • If yes, collect information on number of workers and their wages, by occupation

24. Measuring green production process jobs • Businesses in any industry may use green practices and technologies • Produce energy from renewable sources for use within the establishment • Example: retail store generates solar power • Use of practices and technologies that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources • Example: redesigning product packaging to reduce use of plastics

25. Measuring green production process jobs • Process approach data collection • Initial development underway; field testing starting fall 2010 • Public comment on approach and OMB Clearance • Survey collection during FY2011 • Results in FY2012

26. Career information • New career information products • Careers in the wind energy industry, published on the web in September 2010 • www.bls.gov/green • Additional products planned for FY2011 and later

27. Dixie Sommers, Assistant Commissioner202-691-5701Sommers.Dixie@bls.gov