The number of green jobs being advertised in the North East has fallen sharply in the last year, a new report suggests.
The PwC Green Jobs Barometer says that the number of jobs on offer in environmental sectors has fallen from more than 7,500 a year ago to just under 5,000. Though this was partly due to fewer posts being advertised in the wider economy, the number of green jobs as a percentage of all jobs advertised also fell slightly.
The number of green jobs up for grabs in the region is still slightly higher than 2021 levels, and there has been a big increase (63.6%) in the number of green jobs available in the public sector. But PwC has warned that investment in green technologies might not be translating into jobs for the North East, despite the sector being a much hoped-for area of growth for the region.
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Richard Podd, PwC Ƶ 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 as part of the upcoming mayoral elections, must be developing skills and equipping people to be fit for the future.”
Nationally, the Green Jobs Barometer has identified for the first time that work in environmental industries tend to be higher quality, attracting higher levels of pay and seeing greater levels of job satisfaction. But the roles also required longer working hours and are slightly more likely than non-green roles to be based on temporary contracts.
PwC said the fall in jobs being advertised came against a challenging economic backdrop in which rising inflation led to higher interest rates. It said the fall in the number of green jobs on offer (26%) was not as bad as the 29% drop in total roles being advertised in the Ƶ economy. The accountancy firm defined green jobs as direct roles in producing environmentally-friendly products or services; the adaptation of existing products or services; and those that indirectly support the green economy.
The company said that London and the South East continued to dominate the total number of green jobs being advertised, while Scotland and Northern Ireland were the only areas of the Ƶ to see an increase in green job adverts this year.
