Green Energy Power Plants - Jobs are in Construction, not Production

Under tremendous pressure to reduce costs to get to parity with grid electricity, green manufacturing and production are being done highly efficiently, with much of the work going to semi-skilled construction laborers, not change-the-world college graduates. eSolar and Brightsource Energy are building solar thermal power plants in the Desert Southwest, most of which have about an 11:1 construction to operating job ratio. Brightsource's Ivanpah plant, which will have a rated capacity of 392 MW, will produce nearly 1,000 construction jobs, but just 86 permanent jobs. eSolar's smaller 5 MW Sierra SunTower plant created 250 construction jobs, but just 21 permanent jobs.

The Caithness 845 MW wind farm in Oregon will have just 35 permanent workers, and 400 construction jobs, similar to the 11:1 construction-operating ratio seen with solar thermal. One worker per 24 MW is about 1/4th less than a typical coal-fired plant. While it helps make wind power cheaper, it also shows how much of the opportunity with greentech will be in construction, which is not unlike data centers and other emerging technology areas. They are so automated and efficient that once they are up and running, they are better at creating wealth than jobs.

Coal Mining - Production Up, Employment Down

Sourcewatch has put up a good chart showing how productivity increases in mining have cut employment in that industry. In 1930, the U.S. produced 527 million short tons, and about 1% of the national workforce at the time, or 644,000 Americans, worked in coal mines. By 2000, the country was producing 1,073 million short tons, and just 71,000 Americans worked in mines, so worker productivity increased about 15-fold.

Ohio State - New Hospital Will Create 6,000 Jobs Plus 5,000 Construction Jobs

Groundbreaking is scheduled for today.

Ohio State Hospital Expansion

NY State to End Empire Zone Program

The 22 year-old program was plagued with charges of companies abusing the tax credits it offered. More recently, frustrated officials didn't like how it was being used for retail jobs, not fancy "tech" jobs. Hardly surprising though considering retail still accounts for 13% of all private sector employment.

NY Empire Zone Program to be Scrapped

Toyota Restarting Construction on Mississippi Plant - $650,000 in capital costs per job

After halting work when the economy crashed in 2008, Toyota is resuming work on its $1.3 billion Corolla and Prius plant in Blue Springs, MS, which is near Tupelo, and about 90 minutes southeast of Memphis. In addition to right-to-work laws, one reason it chose Blue Springs over its now closed Fremont, CA plant is access to parts suppliers in the nearby I-20 corridor, which has become a modern version of Detroit.

With 2,000 employees on-site and $1.3 billion in capital needed to build the plant, it'll be spending $650,000 in capital per job created. A little less than the $1 million in capital per new job Dow Kokam will be spending on its new Michigan battery plant, but a strong indication nonetheless of how modern manufacturing often creates more economic activity in construction than in production.

Minnesota Dept. of Employment and Economic Development - Unemployment's Down to 7%

Don't see many pundits talking up the significance of animal feeds, soybeans, and Hard Red Spring Wheat, but they are among Minnesota's top exports, and it's unemployment rate is much lower than many places being hailed as "innovative" or "creative".

Minnesota Sees 5,600 Jobs Added in May

U.S. Economic Development Agency Offering Grants for Regional Innovation Clusters

One of the problems of the "tech" economy right now is that there are hundreds of cities, counties, and states fighting to be in the top 10 places for greentech and biotech. This has done a lot for photographers who sell stock photos of lab coat techs starting at test tubes, but has done little for the communities trying to get their message to stand out.

The U.S. Economic Development Agency has a plan that will help counter this, and is now offering grants to help municipalities and states identify some of their unique strengths through its Regional Innovation Clusters Mapping Project. This is a great opportunity for localities with blurred messages about "life sciences" to develop a more precise message that will resonate with prospective employers.