Jobs in the green economy: typology and characteristics

A recent study by DARES considered two categories of jobs in the green economy in France in 2008: those that were directly concerned with green issues (‘green jobs’) and others that had a more indirect relationship (’greening jobs’). The main occupations identified in both categories were dominated by men and characterised by a high degree of stability. Measured by educational attainment, the level of skills varied, particularly in the ‘greening jobs’ category.

Towards a typology of green jobs

A study on jobs in the green economy (in French, 326Kb PDF) published by DARES (the Ministry of Employment’s Office for Research, Studies and Statistics) in March 2012 examined the typology and characteristics of such jobs in France in 2008.

As a first step, the authors developed a typology of green jobs which distinguishes between ‘green jobs’ and ‘greening jobs’.

• Green jobs are defined as jobs whose purpose is to measure, prevent, control or correct negative impacts on the environment.

• Greening jobs are not directly linked to the environment, but integrate new competences that take into account the ‘environmental dimension’ to a significant and measurable extent.

Using this definition, the identification of greening jobs is not straightforward because the actual ‘green’ content of an occupation might be difficult to assess. Nonetheless, the study estimates that 136,000 people were employed in green jobs and 3.6–4 million people were employed in greening jobs in 2008.

As the definition emphasises the ‘content’ of a job rather than the sector of activity, green and greening jobs can be found in different parts of the economy. Table 1 shows that green jobs are concentrated (61%) in companies that are mainly concerned with green activities whereas two-thirds of all greening employment is located in companies that are active in sectors that are not primarily concerned with the protection of the environment.

Table 1: Green and greening jobs, 2008

Main activity of the company	Green jobs		Greening jobs
	Number	%	Number	%
Green sector	83,000	61	1,216,000	34
Green activities:	68,000	50	760,000	21
Environmental protection	46,000	34	307,000	9
Management of natural resources	19,000	14	327,000	9
Other green activities	2,000	1	126,000	3
Peripheral activities that favour environmental protection or the management of natural resources	16,000	12	456,000	13
Other activities	52,000	38	2,394,000	66
Total *	136,000	100	3,610,000	100

Note: *Totals are the sum of values for ‘green sector’ and ‘other activities’.

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Table 1)

Working conditions and job profiles of green jobs

The study identified four occupational categories of green employment:

• wastewater and pollution treatment;

• production and distribution of energy and water;

• environmental protection;

• other occupations.

Gender

The research suggests that green jobs are dominated by men; 87% of all workers with green jobs in 2008 were men whereas the overall rate of male employment in France was 53% (Table 2).

Although differences were found between the occupational categories, they were all dominated by men. The employment share by women in 2008 varied between 28% in ‘other’ to 6% in ‘wastewater and pollution’ (Table 2).

Table 2: Profiles of workers in green jobs, 2008

Type	Number	Proportion (%)	Women (%)	Men (%)
Wastewater and pollution	51,000	38	6	94
Energy and water	62,000	46	15	85
Environmental protection	4,000	3	11	89
Other	19,000	14	28	72
Total in green sector	136,000	100	13	87
All economic sectors	26,482,000	n/a	47	53

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Table 2)

Qualifications

The figures suggest that unskilled or low-skilled labour is overrepresented in this occupational group, although there is considerable variation between occupations (Figure 1).

The lowest skill levels were reported from wastewater and pollution treatment jobs, which are mainly concerned with waste collection and sewage treatment. Other green occupations, however, covered mainly technicians and engineers and the overall skill level in this category was higher than the average both of green jobs and of the overall economy.

Figure 1: Qualifications of workers in green jobs, 2008

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Figure 1)

Employment status

Employment in green occupations in 2008 appeared to be relatively stable, with 90% of all contracts being regular permanent contracts compared with 85% in the whole economy (Table 3).

Table 3: Contract status of employees in green employment (%), 2008

Occupation	Interns and apprentices	Agency workers	Other fixed-term	Permanent	Part-time
Wastewater and Pollution	2	4	8	86	8
Energy and water	2	1	2	95	5
Environmental protection	2	0	8	90	11
Others	4	1	10	85	8
Total	2	2	6	90	7
Economy	3	2	10	85	18

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Table 3)

Working conditions and job profiles of greening jobs

Employment in greening occupations is very diverse and a typology is difficult to establish. The study identified some 60 occupations located in five different fields:

• construction;

• transport and logistics;

• agriculture and forestry;

• occupations concerned with green spaces;

• other occupations.

The dominant sector in 2008 was construction, accounting for 38% of all jobs (Table 4).

Considerable regional differences were reported in the distribution of greening jobs in France in 2008.

Gender

Greening jobs in 2008 were also dominated by men (Table 4).

Table 4: Profiles of workers in greening jobs, 2008

Activity	Number	Proportion (%)	Women (%)	Men (%)
Construction	1,380,000	38	5	95
Transport and logistics	699,000	19	12	88
Agriculture and forestry	73,000	2	19	81
Green space	136,000	4	6	94
Other	1,324,000	37	27	73
Total	3,610,000	100	15	85

Note: Due to the variety of jobs, data are provided only for a few examples.

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Table 4)

Qualifications

Like green jobs, greening jobs in 2008 were characterised by a considerable variation in level of educational attainment. Not surprisingly, architects were the most skilled profession surveyed, whereas landscape planners had the lowest overall education level (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Qualifications of workers in greening jobs, 2008

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Figure 2)

Employment status

There was also greater variation in employment status in greening jobs in 2008 than in green jobs. In some professions, self-employment was significant – particularly for architects, but also for roofers and electricians. Above-average levels of permanent contracts were reported only for transport managers, and all other categories were at or below the average (Table 5).

Table 5: Contract status of employees in greening employment, 2008 (%)

Occupation	Self-employed and managing directors	Interns and apprentices	Agency workers	Other fixed-term	Permanent	Part-time
Architect	62	1	0	4	33	8
Roofer	32	3	2	4	59	3
Electrician	32	2	4	4	58	3
Transport manager	–	1	0	1	98	4
Engineers, managers, technicians in agriculture, fishing or forestry	–	6	1	8	85	11
Landscape planner	17	13	2	13	56	19
Total (all greening jobs)	11	5	2	7	74	9
Economy	11	3	2	9	76	17

Source: Ast and Margontier (2012, Table 5)

Commentary

Although the DARES study provides some interesting insights into employment in green and greening jobs in 2008, it suffers from two significant limitations. First, there are few characteristics available that help to shed light on working conditions in the green sector; for instance, there is no information on pay or working time. Second, the differentiation between green and ‘regular’ jobs is not straightforward. Architects, for instance, are defined as being a greening occupation but it is not possible to state that the architects are actually involved in green activities.

Reference

Ast, D. and Margontier, S. (2012), Les professions de l’économie verte: typologie et caractéristiques (326Kb PDF), Dares Analyses No. 18, DARES, Paris.

Sebastian Schulze-Marmeling, IRShare