Still far from firing on their own growth in terms of jobs, the eco-activities* however, have the wind in their sails. According to a study of the general Commissioner for sustainable development (CGDD) published Tuesday, the number of jobs in the environment sector in the broad sense has increased 5.4% between 2016 and 2017, to reach 465.450 full-time equivalent jobs. This represents 1.8% of the total employment in France. In proportion to the economy as a whole, the nearly 24,000 new “green jobs” identified over this period represent an increase much higher than in the economy as a whole (+ 1% of job growth by 2017).

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This growth of “green jobs” is mainly driven by the dynamism of organic agriculture, which represents almost four jobs out of five (78%). To meet the increased demand of the French, who consume more and more food from organic farming, not least of 10.700 additional jobs have been created by 2017 in the holdings bios, or an increase of 14% compared to 2016. “We need to go back to the years 2009-2010 to observe a rate of growth higher,” the study said. The organization, under the ministry of the ecological Transition and solidarity, stressed, however, that it is more a question of conversions to organic farming as new activities.

Increase investment in renewable energy

to a lesser extent, the boom of green jobs is carried also by the development of investments in renewable energy (photovoltaic, hydraulic…). In this industry, 5,000 jobs related to the production of equipment, installation work and maintenance or the production of biofuels, have been created by 2017. The recycling sector, which recorded a turnover increase of 9% in 2017 – was also given of the work in 2017. Recent investments related to the modernization and renewal of equipment for the wastewater treatment, were also generators of activities. Although this sector has rather lost jobs in the last ten years, 2300 jobs have been created between 2016 and 2017.

according To the latest activity report of the CGDD, the year 2017 has shown a significant increase of bids, regardless of the type of business, in the sector of the green economy. With respect to the needs in the workforce, about 290,000 recruitment projects on these trades have been expressed by employers, which represented 15 % of all hiring intentions for the year. What may be reinforcing to see to encourage some ambition.

* The eco-activities include the activities that produce goods or services whose purpose is the protection of the environment or the sustainable management of resources, according to the definition of CGDD.