Answer
That’s not to knock the solar and wind industries, but the low price of oil is doing alternative energy progress any favors. Add to that the precarious position the solar industry has now found itself in thanks to the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, talk of repealing solar tax credits, and—a potentially fatal blow if it materializes—trade tariffs that could lead to “project cancellations worth billions of dollars and massive layoffs, to the tune of a third of the total number currently employed in the industry,” wrote Irina Slav for Oilprice just last month. In light of this, the BLS forecast may prove to be a bit overly optimistic.
As for the rest of energy, coal jobs didn’t make BLS’s top 10 movers and shakers, and neither did the oil and industry, although the latter did make the top 30. Derrick operator jobs are forecast to increase 25.7 percent through 2026, while rotary drill operators are set to increase by 24.2 percent, and roustabouts 24.5 percent. The BLS estimates service unit operators in the oil and gas industry will grow by 23.4 percent. Just those four oil industry jobs combined will reach almost 148,000 jobs by 2026—a figure that doesn’t include gas plant operators, petroleum pump operators, refinery operators, wastewater treatment operators, and more.
