Green jobs in the North East struggle in cooling labour market

• Green jobs in the North East struggle in cooling labour market
• The number of jobs advertised across the North East has dropped year on year, including the number of green jobs.
• However, green jobs have increased by 63.6% in the public sector.
• Clear regional differences continue to risk unequal distribution of green jobs and opportunities, as London and Southeast England continue to maintain a dominance on the total number of green jobs being advertised.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland are the only areas to see an absolute increase in green job adverts from 2022 into 2023

The number of green jobs as a percentage of all jobs advertised across the North East has decreased from 2.05% to 1.93% year on year, according to the latest Green Jobs Barometer from PwC. 

In 2022, the region had over 370,000 jobs advertised, of which 7,594 were categorised as green jobs. This year, those numbers have dropped to 252,795 and 4,868 respectively.

However, the number of green jobs is still slightly higher than 2021 levels, when 4,227 jobs were available. 

Despite this, some individual sectors have seen an increase in the number of green jobs available, including the public sector, which has seen an improvement of 63.6%. 

Richard Podd, PwC UK Market Senior Partner for Newcastle, said:

“Given the current economic climate and employment market, it’s not unexpected that the number of jobs has decreased across the majority of the country. Although the North East has seen a drop in green jobs year on year, there is a huge focus on green growth in the region, with both off and on-shore wind projects, electrification projects and carbon capture initiatives and it is welcome to see that government are continuing to invest in green public sector roles in the North East.

“While there is a lot of strong investment into the North East, this research implies the region may be waiting to see this convert into real opportunities for employment. A key area of focus for all of the North East, and particularly as part of the upcoming mayoral elections, must be developing skills and equipping people to be fit for the future. PwC will continue to work closely with local and combined authorities, businesses and policy makers to collaborate on solutions for further green growth in our region.”

UK picture

The number of green jobs advertised in the UK has fallen from the record levels recorded in 2022, albeit at a smaller rate than the decline seen in the UK’s job market overall, finds PwC’s latest Green Jobs Barometer. 

High interest rates and a challenging economic backdrop have seen the number of total advertised roles fall by 29%, while the number of green jobs fell by 26%. This degree of resilience of green jobs has seen their share of the UK labour market increase to 2.3% (up from 2.2% in 2022 and 1.9% in 2021). However, when accounting for the number of green jobs required across the economy to power the UK’s transition to net zero by 2050, this deceleration in overall demand, in the face of a cooling labour market, poses a potential challenge.

PwC’s Green Jobs Barometer, now in its third year, has identified for the first time that green jobs tend to be higher quality jobs, reflecting both higher levels of pay and greater levels of job satisfaction compared to non-green roles. The higher level of pay is not simply a reflection of the skills required; the Barometer has also detected a pay premium for many entry level jobs, with 60% of occupations commanding a 23% pay premium on average for entry level green roles. The Barometer also highlighted that green jobs tend to require longer working hours and are slightly more likely than non-green roles to be based on temporary employment contracts. 

Carl Sizer, Head of Regions and Platforms at PwC, said: 

“Green jobs are a good proxy for the greening of the economy. That green jobs account for a growing proportion of the jobs market is encouraging, but we need to see a significant increase in new green jobs to meet net zero goals. A drop in the number of advertised roles is concerning given the scale of what needs to be achieved. 

“It’s more important than ever to ensure that the transition towards a low-carbon economy brings workers and communities with it. Our research also points to  the benefits of green jobs for workers, with better pay and job satisfaction, but highlights different sectors and regions that stand to be affected differently. Concerted effort will be needed to spread the benefits of green jobs and a green economy.”

Read the full report here.