Brookings Water Workforce Report

Building off previous workforce research, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program has released a first-of-its-kind analysis of jobs involved in the construction, operation, and maintenance of
the country’s water infrastructure. Nearly 1.7 million workers fill jobs in utilities, construction firms, and numerous other employers across the water sector, while facing lower educational barriers to entry and earning more competitive pay.

The report, “Renewing the water workforce: Improving water infrastructure and creating a pipeline to opportunity,” emphasizes the vast scope of the U.S. water workforce, which employs workers across 212 different occupations and lays out a set of actionable strategies – a new water worforce playbook – that local, state and national leaders should use in future hiring, training, and retention efforts.

Read the report here.