Employment projections in electric power industry

The electric power industry is shrinking in terms of total employment and will decline further if Bureau of Labor Statistic employment projections hold.  The data survey is conducted every ten years and covers total employment in the generation, transmission, and distribution (GTD) sectors of the industry.  Natual gas and water utilities are not included in the following employment projections.

Total power industry employment has fallen from 443,800 in 1998 to 404,700 in 2008.  BLS projections estimate the industry at 345,700 employees by 2018. 

On an absolute basis, the changes in industry employment from 1998 to 2008 is a net loss of 39,100 jobs.  By 2018, the industry employment level is expected to lose another 59,000.

The final chart shows the annual growth rate in employment in the electric power industry.  Employment prospects are not as promising as other industries.  From 1998 to 2008, the annual employment growth rate was -0.9%.  Unfortunately the decline will accelerate to -1.6% during the 2008-2018 period. 

Data Source

Related Link: The employment projections 2008-2018

Power generation employment leveling after long downtrend

Employment in the electric power generation segment of the electric power industry has fallen 33% since 1990, according to January 2011 data from the Current Employment Statistics Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data provides employment levels from January 1990 through November 2010. 

Electric power generation-related employment has undergone a major shift in the past two decades as shown in Chart 1.  The long-term trend has been down, although in recent years employment appears to have stablized.  Nevertheless, Chart 2 graphs the year-over-year percentage change in power generation employment since 1990.  The figures are quite astounding for the industry.  Each bar below the zero line represents a decline in generation-related employment from the previous year. 

Over the past 20 years, employment has declined in 18 of those years when compared to the previous year. Of the 18 years of decline, 17 were in a row.  Employment dropped every year from 1991 through 2007.  The only increase was in 2008-2009, with 1996 and 2003 having declines of 4.5 and 6.3 percent, respectively.  The largest declines came in the early to middle part of each decade.   Data through November shows a return to year-over-year declines in 2010. 

Chart 3 shows the monthly change in industry employment over the past 5 years.  Overall, employment has stablized during this timeframe.  However, the question remains, is the downtrend over or will the first half of this decade produce the same workforce reductions as the past two decades?  We will have to wait to find out.  In a follow up post, we will examine the changes in employment in the transmission and distribution segments of the industry.