Green jobs in Austria
The environmental industry in Austria, with a total of 214,400 employees, generated euro 53.4 billion in 2022. euro 17.9 billion of this came from exports. According to data from Statistics Austria on environmentally-oriented production and services, the environmental sector generated gross value added of euro 20.9 billion in 2022.
As in previous years, the most important environmental sector in 2022 was energy resource management, which focuses primarily on renewable energies and heat/energy conservation and management. It generate Euro 27.4 billion, or 51.3 percent of production value, with approximately 80,100 employees (37.4 percent of environmental employees) in 2022. Gross value added of Euro 9.9 billion accounted for 47.3 percent of environment-related gross value added. Exports amounted to Euro 11.4 billion, or 64 percent of total environmental exports.
Definition of green jobs
The EU defines green jobs as those that, irrespective of which sector they are in- be it manufacturing, technology, or services- minimize environmental damage and preserve natural resources.
Green jobs exist in many different areas, for instance in renewable energies, sustainable construction and renovation, as well as in water and wastewater management, and include both highly skilled and unskilled labour, in addition to apprenticeships.
The main purpose of green jobs is to make a contribution to environmental protection. This is why green jobs are present in all economic and social areas, and also why existing job types can become green jobs.