The number of solar jobs available increased in 44 U.S. states in 2016, according to the Solar Foundation’s new National Solar Jobs Census 2016. The National Solar Jobs Census 2016 found that employment growth in the solar industry outpaced the overall U.S. economy by 17 times, adding more than 51,000 jobs for a total of 260,077 U.S. solar workers.

In Oregon, there were 1,509 new jobs in the solar industry in 2016, an increase of 50 percent over 2015. The majority of new Oregon solar industry jobs resulted from the growth of solar installation companies that primarily work with residential customers. Many of those companies are Energy Trust Solar trade allies.

More state level solar census data is available at www.solarstates.org and the complete National Solar Jobs Census 2016 is available at www.SolarJobsCensus.org.