Not all ”green” jobs pay well

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration has high hopes that millions of “green” jobs will be created by investing billions of dollars in renewable energy, but a report on Tuesday warned not all those workers would earn good pay.

“Green jobs are not automatically good jobs,” according to the report commissioned by several U.S. labor and environmental groups, which looked at pay practices at renewable energy companies.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington, both Democrats released the report a day before hundreds of labor, environmental and business activists were scheduled to go to Capitol Hill to lobby for good-paying green jobs.

“Our survey results suggest that wind and solar manufacturing workers earn more than the typical employee at a Wal-Mart store, but it would be a stretch to say that all of them have good jobs,” the report said.

Wage rates at many wind and solar manufacturing facilities are below the national average for workers employed in the manufacture of durable goods of $18.88 an hour, and average pay rates at some locations fall short of income levels needed to support a single adult with one child.

Reuters