EU Solar Jobs Report 2024

In recent years, the solar sector has turned into an important job machine for the European Union. The solar industry has been constantly and strongly growing, adding more power generation capacity than any other
technology and creating hundreds of thousands of meaningful jobs. Solar in Europe has offered a concrete way to directly participate in the renewables-led energy system that provides competitive, affordable, secure energy – and future-proof jobs.

During the years of the energy crisis, solar accelerated its growth to reduce dependency on Russia’s gas and shield EU citizens’ from power price hikes. In 2023, the European solar sector grew beyond the prior 40% annual growth levels, managing an outstanding 50% growth and delivering a new yearly installation record of 61 GW. At a time when other industries struggled to recruit a qualified workforce, solar was taken to new heights by the workers who flocked to it, drawn by demand and a sense of purpose.

While EU solar job numbers were soaring in the EU until a few months ago – employing 826,000 by the end of 2023, and 27% more than a year before – this situation has changed dramatically. For 2024, we expect very slow solar installation capacity growth by only around 5% to about 64 GW new solar in the EU. As consequence, the solar job market will stagnate, and job numbers are likely to increase by less than 1%.

The report takes a look at the state of play for EU solar jobs in 2023, and outlines projections for growth of the workforce until 2028.

To ensure that the solar workforce remains ready to deliver the continent’s primary decarbonisation tool through the second half of the decade, the EU Solar Jobs Report makes a number of policy recommendations.