2 | Illinois Labor Market Review
sustainability. The study reveals that
the number of green jobs in Illinois
total 115,208, and most of those jobs
are in the Chicago metropolitan area.
More than three-fourths of green jobs
in the state are concentrated in two
core areas: preventing and reducing
environmental pollution and increasing
energy efficiency. The green industry
sector with the greatest percentage of
green jobs in Illinois is architecture
and construction, which carries 31.2
percent of all green jobs, followed by
manufacturing at 13.8 percent (see
table 1). The heating, air conditioning
and refrigeration mechanics and
installers job category leads green
employment in Illinois with 5,462
green jobs or 4.7 percent of all green
employment. The other green job
leaders are plumbers, also with 4.7
percent of all green employment,
automotive service technicians and
mechanics (4.0 percent) carpenters
(4.0 percent), electricians (3.6
percent), and laborers (3.2 percent).
Minimal education
requirements
Currently, most green jobs require
minimal education. The study shows
that 42.4 percent of green jobs require
a high school diploma or GED and
that 27.8 percent of green jobs have
no minimum education requirement.
Only 14.2 percent of green jobs
require a bachelor’s degree (see table
2). Also noteworthy is the fact that
the jobs with the least education
requirements have the highest annual
growth rates.
Skills required for current
green jobs
The top skills that employers identified
as requirements for green jobs
are communications, mechanical,
engineering, environmental and
construction. For green jobs requiring
more specialized skills, employers
identified these top five requirements:
a commercial driver’s license, teaching
Providing
Preventing Mitigation or
Increasing Producing and Reducing Cleanup of % of Total
Energy Renewable Environmental Environmental None Total Green
Industry Sector Efficiency Energy Pollution Pollution Specified Emp. Emp.
PRESUMED GREEN 28,888 13,359 23,644 6,423 70 72,429 62.9%
Agriculture and Natural Resources 525 470 3,277 642 * 4,915 4.3%
Architecture and Construction 18,688 10,650 4,811 1,735 * 35,896 31.2%
Energy, Utilities, and Waste Management 349 96 6,344 3,108 * 9,898 8.6%
Manufacturing 8,013 2,121 4,882 854 70 15,940 13.8%
Transportation, Distribution and Logistics 1,101 * 3,659 84 * 4,858 4.2%
Universities, Junior Colleges, and Comm. Colleges 212 21 670 * * 922 0.8%
PRESUMED NOT GREEN - All Other Industries 10,780 3,471 26,333 2,195 * 42,779 37.1%
Total 39,668 16,829 49,977 8,619 70 115,208
% of Total Green Employment 34.4% 14.6% 43.4% 7.5% 0.1%
Table 1. Illinois Employment by Green Industry Sector
% of Annual
Green Total Green Growth
Minimum Education Requirement Employment Employment Rate
No Requirement 32,001 27.8% 15.3%
High School Diploma (GED) 48,877 42.4% 13.8%
Some College, No Degree 4,687 4.1% 10.0%
Associate/Vocational Degree 9,653 8.4% 13.9%
Bachelor’s Degree 16,387 14.2% 9.9%
Graduate Degree 1,959 1.7% 10.3%
None Specified 1,644 1.4% -
Total 115,208 100.0% 13.4%
Table 2. Education Required for Green Employment
Source: Illinois Green Jobs Survey
Source: Illinois Green Jobs Survey
