Fact Sheet: Job Creation in the Nuclear Renaissance
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Electric companies have filed license permits to begin building the next wave of nuclear power plants to help meet fast-growing electricity demand. This new era of nuclear energy will translate into tens of thousands of jobs created to build, maintain and support new reactors. As many as 2,400 workers will be needed at a single site during peak periods of new nuclear plant construction.
Once new plants are built, 400 to 700 people will be needed to run each plant, depending on the design, numbers of reactors that are co-located and staffing strategy.1
If the U.S. companies were to complete the 30 reactors now under consideration, as many as 15,000 to 21,000 new jobs would be added to the job market.
Jobs at nuclear power plants pay substantially more than average salaries in areas where the plants are located. For example, the following are median annual salaries for select positions:
Senior Reactor Operator: $85,426
Reactor Operator: $77,782
Electrical Technician: $67,517
Mechanical Technician: $66,5812
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual salary for nuclear engineers is $82,900 — approximately $8,000 more than all other engineering disciplines except petroleum engineering.
Each of today’s 104 reactors generates an estimated $430 million a year in total output for the local community, and nearly $40 million per year in total labor income3
Thirty-five percent of the current nuclear industry work force may be eligible to retire within five years.4 Between now and 2012, the industry will provide opportunities for approximately 19,600 workers to replace retirees and 6,300 to account for other attrition.
The nuclear energy industry has developed partnerships with educational institutions to provide scholarship, fellowships, cooperative programs, professorships and consulting in degree plans. The industry also is working with community and technical colleges to develop educational and training programs for careers in radiation protection, nuclear technicians and other aspects of nuclear power technology.
According to Zogby International, two-thirds of Americans (67%) support the construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.S., with nearly half (46%) indicating strong support for new plants.5
A 2007 national survey of people living in nuclear plant communities found that 88 percent have a favorable impression of their local nuclear power plant.6
1. Nuclear Power Plant Contributions To State and Local Economies,” NEI Fact Sheet, January 2008
2. EAP Data Information Solutions, April 2007
3. Nuclear Power Plant Contributions To State and Local Economies,” NEI Fact Sheet, January 2008
4. Nuclear Industry’s Comprehensive Approach Develops Work Force for the Future, NEI Fact Sheet, April 2008
5. Zogby Poll: 67% Favor Building New Nuclear Plants in U.S.”, Zogby International Press Release, June 6, 2008
6. National Survey of Nuclear Power Plant Communities,” Bisconti Research, 2007