With the Corbett administration promoting the Marcellus ‘Gas rush” as a means of generating jobs, it is worth looking at the jobs currently associated with the alternative ‘green economy. In July the Brookings Institute published an analysis of Pittsburgh’s own green economy. For 2010 the Pittsburgh area ranked 24th in the nation with 21,963 ‘green’ or ‘clean’ jobs, or 1.9 pct of all jobs in the area. The estimated mean wage for these ‘green’ jobs was $37,906 compared to a $36,153 for all jobs in Pittsburgh.

The number of ‘green’ jobs added since 2003 was 4,938 for an average increase of 3.9 pct annually. Jobs created in the main segments over the period 2003-2010 were: Public Mass Transit – 502; Waste Management and treatment – 528; Professional Environmental Services – 804; Recycling and Reuse – 508; Energy-Saving Building Materials – 66.

Looking at the fastest growing segments, over the same 2003-2010 period the average job increase for Solar Photovoltaics was 59 pct each year to 281 jobs in 2010; Pollution Reduction – 27 pct to 529; Recycled Content Products – 21 pct to 925; HVAC and Building Control systems – 21 pct to 147; and Green Architecture and Construction Services – 20 pct to 39 jobs in 2010.