The nuclear energy industry is a powerful engine for job creation. The U.S. industry directly employs nearly 100,000 people in high-quality, long-term jobs. This number climbs to 475,000 when you include secondary jobs. We cannot afford to lose nuclear jobs by closing plants, nor can we afford to miss out on thousands of jobs that building new reactors will create.
Quick Facts on Nuclear Industry Jobs
- Each nuclear power plant employs 500 to 1,000 workers.
- Building a nuclear power reactor employs up to 3,500 workers at peak construction.
- Nuclear worker salaries are 20 percent higher on average than those of other electricity generation sources.
- The typical nuclear power plant creates $40 million in labor income each year.
- For every 100 nuclear power plant jobs, 66 more jobs are created in the local community.
- Nearly one in four nuclear workers are veterans.
Not Just Nuclear Engineering Jobs
The nuclear energy industry creates lasting, high-paying jobs for people from a wide range of fields and educational backgrounds. Recruiting from universities, community colleges, the military and the trades, nuclear power plants provide high-quality jobs to the whole community.
| Skilled Trades |
Engineering & Professions |
Technicians & Radiologists |
| Carpenters |
Accountants |
Chemists |
| Electricians |
Chemical engineers |
Mechanics |
| Operators of heavy equipment |
Civil engineers |
Radiation protection specialists |
| Masons |
Health physicists |
Reactor operators |
| Pipefitters |
Lawyers |
Scientists |
| Sheet metal workers |
Mechanical engineers |
|
| Welders |
Nuclear engineers |
|
| |
Entrepreneurs |
|
| |
Financial managers |
|
Strong Growth Projections for Nuclear Industry Jobs
The global demand for nuclear energy is rising rapidly and a new, next generation of reactors is on the horizon. Domestic job demand will skyrocket if the U.S. can maintain its nuclear technology leadership in the global marketplace.
The Human Cost of Closing Nuclear Power Plants
The early closure of nuclear plants has a devastating impact on towns. When the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon, Vermont, shut down in 2014, the town had to cut its budget in half. Lohud.com, a USA Today news outlet, reported that “Vernon lost coaches for its youth sports teams, volunteers for the local Boys and Girls club and nuclear engineers who used to walk across the street to Vernon Elementary School to help out with math homework.” The University of Massachusetts estimated that the plant’s $500 million contribution to the regional economy would fall to $13 million by 2020 and then continue to drop.
The town of Zion, Illinois, is still coping with an annual loss of $18 million in income after the 1998 shutdown of the Zion Nuclear Power Station. Fewer cops patrol the town and taxes on a $300,000 home have surged from $8,000 to $20,000 per year. The Chicago Sun-Times reports nearly two-thirds of the town’s single-family houses are now rentals. Storefronts sit empty and the town struggles to attract new businesses. “We can’t draw businesses because the taxes are so high,” Zion Mayor Al Hill said. “And the taxes are so high because we can’t draw businesses.”