The U.S. clean energy sector lost 36,949 jobs in 2025, reversing four consecutive years of employment growth, according to E2‘s Clean Jobs America 2026 analysis.

The job losses mark the first annual employment decline since the pandemic-driven economic crisis. The jobs lost during the year were equivalent to nearly 40% of the new positions created in 2024.

The employment contraction affected most major clean energy sectors, with energy efficiency recording the largest absolute decline. Employment in the sector declined by 21,443 jobs, ending 2025 with approximately 2.36 million workers.

Employment in renewable generation fell by 11,584 jobs, to 557,725. Jobs in the clean vehicle sector fell by 9,619, to 388,415.

Storage and grid modernization bucked the broader decline, adding 5,346 jobs during the year. Employment in the segment increased to 173,388.

Biofuels also registered a marginal increase, adding 350 jobs to reach 42,270.

The decline in clean energy employment came alongside a broader contraction in the U.S. energy workforce. The Department of Energy estimated that the country’s overall energy sector employed 8.4 million workers in 2025 and lost approximately 86,000 jobs during the year.

Clean energy accounted for roughly 43% of the total energy sector job losses.

Despite the contraction, clean energy remained the largest segment of the U.S. energy workforce, with more than 3.5 million jobs. E2 said oil and gas companies employed approximately 958,000 workers, while coal and nuclear companies employed 125,000 and 70,000, respectively, in 2025.

Clean energy employment also remained 16% above 2020 levels. However, the report notes that the sector’s recent trend of adding around 100,000 or more jobs annually appears to have ended.

State-Level Employment

Clean energy employment declined across 35 states during 2025, although the losses were concentrated in some of the country’s largest clean energy job markets.

The five states recording the largest declines accounted for approximately 82% of the nationwide net job loss. Four were among the 10 states with the largest clean energy workforces.

California recorded the largest decline, losing 20,655 clean energy jobs, or 3.7%. The state’s losses accounted for more than half of the nationwide net decline.

Illinois lost 2,958 clean energy jobs, representing a 2.2% decline, while Maryland lost 2,395 jobs, or 2.8%. Massachusetts recorded a decline of 2,212 jobs, or 1.7%, and Michigan lost 1,926 jobs, or 1.5%.

Florida led clean energy employment growth among states, adding 3,801 jobs, an increase of 2.1%. Georgia added 830 jobs, followed by Iowa with 797, New Mexico with 754, and Idaho with 518.

New Mexico recorded the highest percentage growth among the five leading states at 5.4%. Florida added more clean energy jobs than the next four highest growth states combined.

Project Cancellations

The employment decline coincided with a significant increase in clean energy project cancellations and downsizing.

According to E2, companies canceled or downsized 142 clean energy manufacturing, generation, and storage projects during 2025. The projects represented $57.8 billion in planned investment.

The canceled or downsized projects were expected to create about 84,400 jobs. These positions are separate from the 36,949 existing clean energy jobs lost during 2025 and are not included in the Department of Energy employment figures.

Combining the actual employment decline with the jobs associated with canceled projects results in more than 120,000 existing and planned positions affected, according to E2.

E2 linked the reversal in employment and project activity to changes in federal support for clean energy and electric vehicles that began in January 2025 under the Trump administration and Congress.

Clean energy manufacturing investment in the U.S. continued to slow in the first quarter of 2026, with businesses announcing $758.3 million in funding across 12 new electric vehicle, solar, battery, and grid projects between January and March. This is a decline from the $3.45 billion invested in Q1 2025.