Service Jobs - Utilities

Utility Services (revised fall 2024)

Utility Services in the North American Industry Classification includes electricity, natural gas, water and sewerage services. Employment was 575.1 thousand by 2024 down from 1990 when it was 740 thousand. Electricity includes generation, transmission and distribution, but natural gas is just distribution and resale. Water and sewer systems can also include treatment and irrigation. Electricity employment makes up 69.7  percent of utility job totals, about 20 percent in natural gas and just fewer than 10 percent for water and sewers.

Jobs in utility services tend to be highly specialized with 160 thousand jobs in installation, maintenance and repair occupations. Electrical power line installers and repairers have 61.3 thousand jobs, the biggest occupation in utility service. Utility companies generally produce the services they sell so production occupations like power plant operator, gas plant operators, water and liquid waste treatment plant operators have 47 thousand of jobs in this sector.  Office and administrative support jobs have 14.3 percent of jobs including 8.4 thousand meter readers, which are down from over 16 thousand a decade ago.

Utility occupations like electrical power line installers and repairers require long term on-the-job training rather than bachelor’s degree training had 142.3 thousand jobs in 2023 while jobs needed bachelor’s degree training had 165.7 thousand jobs. Electrical and electronic engineers have 20.1 thousand of the jobs, but over 120 thousand of the jobs needing college degree training applies to managerial, finance, or computer occupations. The skilled jobs here pay relatively well. Too bad there are so few of them.

With a 134.543 million service jobs to divvy up, utility services gives us only 575.4 thousand jobs, which is only .37 percent of establishment employment. Utility services are too similar to manufacturing in that output and sales of these services are not declining but utility services employment is declining through productivity increases. America needs jobs but utility employment will be limited help. We have 62.466 million jobs left to go give us service.