Now that the sequester has officially begun, people are wondering what the impacts will be, both long term and short term. The message from the two sides of the political spectrum could not be more opposite. Republicans are confident that the concern is overstated, and the wasteful federal government needs the motivation to start effectively managing its operations. The Democrats, on the other hand, are convinced that the arbitrary cuts to critical federal programs will cause significant damage that will reverberate throughout the economy. Almost all agree that there will be short term economic pain, but what direct and indirect effects will the sequester have on jobs in the clean energy sector, and what does it mean for developing a workforce that can effectively implement a transition to sustainable energy going forward?
Most economists believe that, while the macroeconomic impact of seque turkey phone number tration is not catastrophic, the timing is poor given that the overall economy is on the heels of the first financial quarter that growth slowed since the recovery began. For the clean energy workforce, which has benefited from discretionary programs such as job training grants, the timing is even worse. Ironically, the same programs will see greater need as a result of the sequester, which is expected lead to public sector employee layoffs and slower economic growth.
The programs that have been used to put displaced workers and veterans to work performing energy audits and joining solar installation crews stand to lose at least million in if the sequesters go into effect.
Despite chronically high unemployment, clean energy companies insist that they have trouble finding workers with the right skills. Despite mixed views in the political arena, the solar, wind, and energy efficiency industries have grown rapidly in recent years, in part due to the public commitment to developing human capital specifically for these industries.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided million for green workforce development, a drop in the bucket for the federal budget, but a significant commitment for emerging sectors. This investment seems to have paid off, at least compared to other spending that is on the chopping block for the sequester, namely the armed forces. A study by the Political Economy Research Institute at University of Massachusetts found that each invested in the green economy generates . more jobs than each invested in the military. After stimulus spending however, the commitment to workforce training has already been steadily cut. With the sequester, marks the sharpest decline in investment in America’s workforce in at least years.