Renewable energy jobs reached 16.6 million in 2024, up 2.3% YoY, according to a new IRENA and ILO report
Solar PV led with 7.24 million jobs, making it the largest employer across all clean energy technologies
Asian countries account for 75% of global solar jobs, with China alone representing 58% of global PV employment, or about 4.2 million jobs
Despite 582 GW of new renewable capacity added in 2024, job growth was relatively modest due to automation, geopolitical tensions, and supply-chain shifts
Global renewable energy installations in 2024 grew to 16.6 million, representing an increase of 2.3% annually, led by solar PV’s 7.24 million, say the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Labour Organization (ILO) in a new report.
While renewable energy installations grew substantially in 2024 to 582 GW, jobs in the sector registered a smaller increase. This, IRENA observes, is due to the increasing impact of geopolitical and geoeconomic frictions, as well as growing automation, on the renewable energy workforce.
Solar energy jobs increased from 7.11 million in 2023 (see IRENA & ILO Release Renewable Energy And Jobs – Annual Review 2024).
In 2024, the top 10 countries accounted for a cumulative 6 million solar jobs or 82% of the global total. Among these, 6 are in Asia, accounting for 75% of the world’s PV jobs; 2 are in Europe, with 11.3% (the EU accounting for 10.6%); and 2 are in the Americas, holding 9.6% of the global share. Others made up the remaining 3.7%.
“Pakistan, Germany, Türkiye and Italy all ranked among the top ten, driven by strong growth in both distributed and utility-scale solar markets,” according to the IRENA report.
In 2024, China continued to lead in global PV employment as it accounted for 58% of the global PV employment, or some 4.2 million jobs, especially since it represents the lion’s share of manufacturing jobs. As the world’s solar PV manufacturing factory, China accounted for 81.6% of all PV modules produced globally in 2024. China is also supplying modules to the rest of the world.
With trade tensions and tariffs imposed in some geographies, such as the US and India, China is diversifying its markets to include Brazil, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Africa, among others. This means these markets are creating jobs in construction and installation, and operation and maintenance (O&M) rather than manufacturing.
Yet the world’s largest solar PV jobs market saw its employment numbers slide from 4.59 million in 2023. IRENA refers to the China Renewable Energy Society, which observes the most significant reductions in employment in PV modules and related auxiliary materials, while other equipment manufacturers expanded their workforce.
Europe’s estimated PV jobs totaled 821,200, including 764,400 in EU member states, according to IRENA, which bases its estimates on a combination of national and regional reports and employment factor calculations.
However, these figures are lower than the record high of 865,000 solar jobs reported in 2024 in the EU member states, according to SolarPower Europe’s (SPE) EU Solar Jobs Report 2025, led by Germany. Deployment accounted for 86% of the jobs, followed by 7.7% in O&M, 4.7% in manufacturing, and 1.6% in decommissioning and recycling. SPE projects a decline in EU solar jobs in 2025 to around 825,000 in 2025, before recovering to reach close to 916,000 by 2029 (see EU Solar Jobs Hit Record 865,000 But Decline Looms).
India, on the other hand, had an estimated 384,900 solar jobs according to IRENA, while the US had close to 280,100 jobs.
“Countries that are lagging behind in the energy transition must be supported by the international community,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera. “This is essential not only to meet the goal of tripling renewable power capacity by 2030, but also to ensure that socio-economic benefits become lived realities for all, helping to shore up popular support for the transition.”
The 12th edition of the report also calls for increasing work opportunities in the renewable energy industry for women and people with disabilities. It points to the lack of human dimension in this conversation, which, more often than not, is limited to technology, costs, and capacity targets. The renewable energy space is set to become more digitized, and new technologies like robots, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI) may reduce the number of jobs.
To ensure a skilled workforce for the industry, workers must be upskilled and retrained to meet the ever-evolving job needs. However, it adds, the focus should be not only on the number of jobs, but also on job quality and security.
“A just transition demands that no population groups—such as women and people with disabilities—are left at the margins. The renewables-based energy future must be shaped by diverse talents and perspectives. To this day, both groups’ potential remains under-utilised, which calls for deliberate, multifaceted and systemic action,” state IRENA and ILO.
The entire report, titled Renewable Energy and Jobs—Annual Review 2025, is available for free download on IRENA’s website.