"For the first time, the federal government on Thursday released an estimate of the number of so-called green jobs in the United States economy, saying that 3.1 million people are employed in the production of goods and services that benefit the environment."
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the Labor Department, spent more than a year compiling its report, which found that green goods and services accounted for 2.4 percent of total United States employment in 2010. The study, based on a survey of employers and a relatively broad definition of the term ”green,” will provide a baseline against which future job growth or decline can be measured.
The definition and value of green jobs have been intensely debated for the last several years, as President Obama promised to create five million new environmentally friendly jobs. The administration has devoted tens of billions of dollars of federal stimulus money to projects intended to reduce energy use, clean up the environment and generate employment during the deep recession."
John M. Broder reports for the New York Times March 22, 2012.
