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This sixth edition of Renewable energy and jobs: annual review provides the latest available estimates and calculations on renewable energy employment. It represents an on-going effort to refine and improve data and methodologies. Global numbers are based on a wide range of studies with varying methodologies and uneven detail and quality. The global renewable energy sector employed 11 million people in 2018. This compares with 10.3 million in 2017, based on available information. Employment remains concentrated in a handful of countries, with China, Brazil, the United States, India and members of the European Union in the lead. Asian countries' share remained at 60 per cent of the global total. Several factors - including national deployment and industrial policies, changes in the geographic footprint of supply chains and in trade patterns, and industry consolidation trends - shape how and where jobs are created. Nonetheless, the increasingly diverse geographic footprint of energy-generation capacities and, to a lesser degree, assembly and manufacturing plants, has created jobs in a rising number of countries.

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The industry created more than 500 000 new jobs globally in 2017, with the total number of people employed in renewables (including large hydropower) surpassing 10 million for the first time. This report presents the status of employment, both by technology and in selected countries, over the past year. Jobs in the sector (including large hydropower) increased 5.3 per cent in 2017, for a total of 10.3 million people employed worldwide. China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany and Japan have remained the world's biggest renewable energy employers, representing more than 70 per cent of such jobs. While growing numbers of countries reap socio-economic benefits from renewables, the bulk of manufacturing still takes place in relatively few countries. Four-fifths of all renewable energy jobs in 2017 were in Asia. Among the various technologies based on renewables, the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry supports the most jobs. PV jobs increased almost 9 per cent to reach 3.4 million around the world in 2017, reflecting the year's record 94 gigawatts of PV installation. Jobs in the global wind power industry contracted slightly to 1.15 million. Europe still accounts for five of the world's top ten countries for installed wind power capacity.

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The renewable energy sector employed 9.8 million people, directly and indirectly, in 2016 - a 1.1 per cent increase over 2015. Jobs in renewables, excluding large hydropower, increased by 2.8 per cent to reach 8.3 million in 2016. Renewable energy employment worldwide has continued to grow since IRENA's first annual assessment in 2012, but the last two years have seen a more moderate rate of growth. The most consistent increase has come from jobs in the solar PV and wind categories, together more than doubling since 2012. In contrast, employment in solar heating and cooling and large hydropower has declined.

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This review presents the status of renewable energy employment, both by technology and in selected countries, over the past year. This edition estimates that renewable energy employed 8.1 million people around the world in 2014 (excluding large hydropower). This is a five per cent increase from the number reported the previous year. In addition, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) conducted a second global estimate of large hydropower employment, showing approximately 1.3 million direct jobs in the sector. While the growth in jobs slowed down compared to previous years, the total number of jobs in renewables worldwide continued to rise, in stark contrast with depressed labour markets in the broader energy sector. Countries with the highest number of renewable energy jobs were China, Brazil, the United States, India, Japan and Germany.

Solar PV was the largest renewable energy employer with 2.8 million jobs worldwide, an 11 per cent increase over 2014. Solar PV employment grew in Japan and the United States, stabilised in China, and continued decreasing in the European Union. Wind power witnessed a record growth year. Strong installation rates in China, the United States and Germany resulted in a five per cent increase in global employment, to reach 1.1 million jobs. IRENA's early research indicates that the renewable energy features more gender parity than the broader energy sector.

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The renewable energy sector employed 11.5 million people, directly and indirectly, in 2019. Renewable energy employment has continued to grow worldwide since 2012, when the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) began to assess it on an annual basis. The solar photovoltaic (PV), bioenergy, hydropower and wind power industries have been the biggest employers. The bulk of global jobs relate to modern energy use, but the 2019 estimate includes jobs tied to the use of decentralised solar PV to expand energy access in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. The majority of these jobs are still held by men. The share of women in the renewable energy workforce is about 32 per cent, compared to 22 per cent in the energy sector overall (IRENA, 2019a).

Key findings include: (1) Most jobs have been created in a small number of countries, but employment benefits are showing up more widely, especially through the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies. Asia accounted for 63 per cent of total jobs in renewables globally; (2) The solar PV industry retains the top spot, with 33 per cent of the total renewable energy workforce. In 2019, 91 per cent of global PV employment was concentrated in the ten countries that lead in worldwide deployment and in the production of equipment; (3) Driven by output growth of 2 per cent for ethanol and 13 per cent for biodiesel, biofuels jobs worldwide expanded to 2.5 million. Production expanded robustly in Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, all of which have labour-intensive supply chains, whereas output in the United States and the European Union fell; (4) Employment in wind power supports 1.2 million jobs, 21 per cent of which are held by women. Onshore projects continue to predominate, but the number of countries with offshore farms now stands at 18, up from 10 a decade ago. Supply chains are expanding; (5) Hydropower has the largest installed capacity of all renewables, but its growth is slowing. The sector employs close to 2 million people directly, many in operations and maintenance; (6) Building the skills base necessary to support the ongoing global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables requires more vocational training, stronger curricula, more teacher training and expanded use of information and communications technology for remote learning; and (7) The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of strong policy frameworks for renewables to achieve social, economic and environmental objectives.

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