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Green jobs

Estimates of North East regional employment in green occupations. Other estimates of net-zero related employment

Labour market Net Zero Employment
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Identifying green jobs

There is currently no official UK definition of jobs impacted by green economy activities and technologies. In the USA, the O*NET Program has developed a list of occupations identified as green. These occupations are in three categories :

  • Green new and emerging, where the green economy creates the need for unique work and worker requirements, leading to new occupations.
  • Green enhanced skills, where the result is a significant change to the work and worker requirements of an existing occupation.
  • Green increased demand, which see additional employment demand due to the green economy, but no significant changes in the work and worker requirements of the occupation.

The total number of occupations in the standard UK classification (SOC2020) is smaller than the US equivalent. Hence, UK definitions of green occupations are based on a best-fit match with the O*NET list and some that are defined as green are within more than one of the three categories. Analysis by the North East CA (Combined Authority) identified that just over 70 of the 412 UK four-digit SOC2020 occupations can be matched to the more than 200 green occupations in the O*NET list.

Sub-national employment estimates for this level of occupational breakdown are only available for UK ITL1 areas. These are the nine broad English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The North East ITL1 area includes both the North East and Tees Valley combined authority areas. The source is the ONS Annual Population Survey regional dataset. Because this is survey-based, the analysis in this report is based on annual averages over three calendar years to give a larger sample size. The latest regional calendar year data is for 2024.

Not every worker within the occupations identified as green is impacted by the green economy. Other occupations not identified as green include some workers that can be considered part of the green economy.  Hence, this list provides a method to produce an indicative estimate of the size of the workforce in green occupations rather than a definitive count. 

North East employment in green occupations

209,600

employment in green occupations

North East ITL1 region,
2022-24
annual average

17.5%

of total employment

2022-24
annual average,
England: 17.4%

70,100

in new and emerging green occupations

2022-24
annual average,
North East ITL1 region.

120,400

in enhanced skills green occupations

99,700 in increased demand
green occupations. Overlap of
80,000 jobs in 2 or 3 categories.

Geographic comparisons

24%

of green jobs in professional occupations

North East ITL1 region (2022-24)
22% in skilled trades,
15% managers and directors,
England: 28%, 18% and 21%

40%

of skilled trade workers in green jobs

North East ITL1 region (2022-24)
32% of managers and directors,
31% of process, plant & machine operatives
England: 37%, 33%, 25%.

5.8%

of employment in new and emerging green jobs

North East ITL1 region (2022-24),
green jobs with enhanced skills: 10.0%,
with increased demand: 8.3%.
England: 6.3%, 10.4%, 7.4%.

21%

of green jobs in building and electrical work

North East ITL1 region (2022-24)
15% in transport, storage and logistics,
13% in production and energy.
England: 20%, 14%, 10%.

Other estimates

There is no official sub-national estimate of the number of people working in green and net-zero industries. The Data City platform uses website text and machine learning to classify companies by what they do, not by what Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code was used when the company was set up.

The platform uses Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs) to summarise the work of companies. Data City local employment estimates for RTICs are not as accurate as business counts. This is because many companies have locations in more than one area but employment data is usually provided at company level.

In January 2026, there were almost 1,100 employer businesses with a net-zero RTIC located in the North East CA area. These net-zero businesses were estimated to have about 27,000 employees.

The ONS produces an annual estimate of the size of the UK low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE). This is based on a survey of UK businesses, with those reporting activity in one or more of 17 defined sectors considered part of the LCREE. The latest national estimates are for 2023, but experimental, one-off estimates for 2020 have also been produced for each of the nine English statistical regions.

In 2020, the North East region was estimated to have had full-time equivalent LCREE employment of 7,600. This included employment of about 3,400 in the two sectors producing energy efficient lighting and other energy efficient products and employment of 2,100 in the nuclear sector.

Additional information

Sources of data and information

O*NET green occupations list (using American occupational codes)

O*NET green topics list

Experimental estimates of green jobs (ONS, UK level data only)

Annual Population Survey regional occupation data (ONS Nomis website)

Low carbon and renewable energy economy (annual ONS UK estimates)

The Data City (commercial platform with insights into emerging sectors)

Green occupations (SOC2020)