California sprouts green jobs

California’s green jobs are growing at a faster rate than total jobs in the state, according to a recent report released by the nonpartisan organization Next 10.

The report, Many Shades of Green: Diversity and Distribution of California’s Green Jobs, revealed that the state’s energy-efficiency jobs grew by 36 percent from 1995 to 2008, while total state jobs grew by only 13 percent.

The Sacramento region significantly surpassed other regions with green-job growth of 87 percent. The San Diego region took second place with 57 percent growth.

The report had several other findings, including that the number of green jobs in the state is now comparable to the number of jobs in the biotech and software sectors. For a full copy of the report, visit www.next10.org and click on “2011 Many Shades of Green.”