Green Economy: NYC Leading in Jobs, Behind on Everything Else

NEW YORK—New York metropolitan area’s green economy is the biggest in the nation when measured in job numbers, according to a new report published by the Brookings Institute Wednesday. When measured against other factors, however, the region falls far behind.

The report, “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment,” examined the nation’s green economy and its importance for the competitiveness against other nations, focusing on the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. It is the first comprehensive study of its kind.

The green economy is hard to assess and define: It cuts across sectors and industries, and its boundaries are unclear. Nonetheless, it holds high potential for economic growth and better-paying jobs. Jobs considered within the green sector include those in mass transit, waste management, conservation, environmental services, and renewable energy, among others.

The New York metropolitan area ranks the first in the nation in terms of green jobs available, with 152,034 jobs—more than 1.5 times more than in Los Angeles metro area, which ranked second. These numbers alone do not paint the entire picture, however. Green jobs only comprise 1.8 percent of all jobs in the area, which puts the city in the 47th place.

Additionally, the region doesn’t fare as well with regard to export value, according to the report. Green jobs are seen as an export catalyst across the nation, and the green economy’s export value, on a per-job basis, is twice that of typical American jobs. For the New York metropolitan area, each green job produced $10,251 in exports, resulting in the 71st ranking.

The green economy usually produces above-average-paying jobs. In New York, however, it is the opposite. According to the report, median wages of green jobs are about 13 percent higher than median wages of national jobs overall, and a large share of green jobs is held by workers with relatively little formal education. In New York metropolitan area, the median annual salary for a green job is $45,578, which is lower than the area’s overall median salary of 48,899. Some of this can be attributed to a concentration of high-paying sectors in the city, such as finance and banking, which can push up the median.

The area with the highest share of green jobs is Albany, with 28,087 green jobs comprising 6.3 percent of all jobs. The two driving forces of this trend, according to the report, are the state government and General Electric, which placed some of its major clean energy operations in the area.

Considering the high potential of the green economy to drive economic stability and growth in the future, the authors of the report suggest for the state to further invest in this sector and to offer other incentives that might drive innovation and progress for green economy companies.

The results of the study, showing New York metropolitan area far behind in several statistical aspects, are surprising, considering the Bloomberg administration’s focus on the city’s sustainability. The much-publicized PlaNYC, a master plan for the city for the next 20 years, is key to these efforts, focusing much attention on ensuring the viability of the city in terms of energy use, preservation of natural resources, and steady economic development.