Page 29 - enLIGHTenment January 2016

housing forecast

NATIONAL GDP

Green construction’s growth rate is outpacing In 2015, green construction’s total impact on

that of conventional construction. As a result, the
industry’s annual contribution to GDP is expected employment in 2015 equaled more than 2.3

to almost double between now and 2018.
million U.S. jobs, contributing $134.3 billion in
From 2011 to 2014, national green construction

generated $167.4 billion in GDP. Over the next labor earnings for working Americans.

four years, it is predicted that number will
jump to $303.5 billion, and the construction of

LEED-certi ed buildings will account for about jobs were a ributable to green construction be-
40 percent of green construction’s overall tween 2011 and 2014. Nearly 1.26 million jobs are

contribution to GDP in 2015.
projected between 2015 and 2018.

STATE-LEVEL GROWTH
SAVINGS

In 2014, LEED-related employment directly con- Green buildings result in signi cant savings across
tributed $1.09 billion of individual income tax to energy, trash, water, and maintenance costs. Based

their respective states, and is expected to contrib- on operations of green buildings constructed from

ute $1.5 billion by 2018. At that time, total state 2015 through 2018, BAH estimated an aggregate
earnings related to LEED building construction is savings of $2.4 billion in energy costs. It is project-

projected to total $8.4 billion. States nationwide ed that LEED-certi ed buildings will account for
are projected to receive increases in green con- more than half of the energy savings in the green

struction jobs. For example, in Texas, 720,000+
building sector ($1.2 billion). 

Construction Leads Job

Growth Through 2024

T
he construction industry is expected to

experience a signi cant amount of em-
ployment growth over the next decade,

according to new projections from the

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and reported
by the National Association of Home Builders

(NAHB).
The BLS employment projections are designed to

estimate labor market changes, given assumptions

and estimates involving structural economic factors.
According to the BLS, the construction sector

is expected to add 790,400 jobs through 2024.
This places the construction sector fourth among

major industries. The health and social assistance

sector leads with a forecasted 3.8 million job
gain, followed by professional and busi-

ness services (1.9 million), and the leisure
and hospitality sector (941,200).


January 2016 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 27