CHAPTER 15. EMPLOYMENT IMPACT ANALYSIS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

15.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 15-1
 

15.2 METHOD ...................................................................................................................... 15-1
 

15.3 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 15-2
 

15.3.1 Increased Capital Investment Cost Impacts................................................................... 15-2
 

15.3.2 Decreased Energy and Water Costs Impacts ................................................................. 15-4
 

15.3.3 Changes in Operations and Maintenance Costs Impacts ............................................... 15-7
 

15.3.4 Net National Employment Impacts................................................................................ 15-8
 

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 15.3.1 Conventional Cooking Products Net National Change in Jobs ....................... 15-11
 

Table 15.3.2 Microwave Oven EF Net National Change in Jobs......................................... 15-11
 

Table 15.3.3 Microwave Oven Standby Power Net National Change in Jobs ..................... 15-12
 

Table 15.3.4 Commercial Clothes Washers Net National Change in Jobs........................... 15-12
 

LIST OF FIGURE 

Figure 15.3.1 Conventional Cooking Products Employment Impact of Increased 

Equipment Cost.................................................................................................. 15-2
 

Figure 15.3.2 Microwave Oven EF Employment Impact of Increased Equipment Cost......... 15-3
 

Figure 15.3.3 Microwave Oven Standby Power Employment Impact of Increased
 

Equipment Cost.................................................................................................. 15-3
 

Figure 15.3.4 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impact of Increased Equipment
 

Cost .................................................................................................................... 15-4
 

Figure 15.3.5 Conventional Cooking Product Employment Impact of Energy Savings ......... 15-5
 

Figure 15.3.6 Microwave Oven EF Employment Impact of Energy Savings.......................... 15-5
 

Figure 15.3.7 Microwave Oven Standby Power Employment Impact of Energy Savings ...... 15-6
 

Figure 15.3.8 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impact of Energy and Water
 

Savings............................................................................................................... 15-6
 

Figure 15.3.9 Conventional Cooking Products Impacts of Operations and Maintenance
 

Cost Increase...................................................................................................... 15-7
 

Figure 15.3.10 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impacts of Operations and
 

Maintenance Cost Increase ................................................................................ 15-8
 

Figure 15.3.11 Conventional Cooking Products Net National Employment Impacts ............... 15-9
 

Figure 15.3.12 Microwave Oven EF Net National Employment Impacts ................................. 15-9
 

Figure 15.3.13 Microwave Oven Standby Power Net National Employment Impacts ........... 15-10
 

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EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
Figure 15.3.14 Commercial Clothes Washer Net National Employment Impacts .................. 15-11
 

15-ii 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 15. EMPLOYMENT IMPACT ANALYSIS
 

15.1 INTRODUCTION
 

The Department defines net national employment impacts from commercial clothes 

washer, conventional cooking product, and microwave oven efficiency standards as net jobs 

created or eliminated in the general economy as a consequence of: (1) increased spending on the 

purchase and installation of new appliances; (2) reduced spending on electricity, natural gas, and 

water; (3) reduced spending on new investment or capacity by energy companies; (4) changes in 

operation and maintenance costs; and (5) the associated indirect effects of the above. 

15.2 METHOD 

The Department based its analysis on an input/output model of the U.S. economy that 

estimates the effects of standards on major sectors of the economy related to buildings and the 

net impact of standards on jobs. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed the 

model, ImSET1 (which stands for Impact of Sector Energy Technologies) as a successor to 

ImBuild2, a special-purpose version of the IMPLAN3 national input/output model. ImSET 

estimates the employment and income effects of building energy technologies. In comparison 

with simple economic multiplier approaches, ImSET allows for more complete and automated 

analysis of the economic impacts of energy-efficiency investments in buildings. 

In an input/output model, the level of employment in an economy is determined by the 

relationship of different sectors of the economy and the spending flows among them. Different 

sectors have different levels of labor intensity and so changes in the level of spending (e.g., due 

to the effects of an efficiency standard) in one sector of the economy will affect flows in other 

sectors, which affects the overall level of employment. 

ImSET uses a 188-sector model of the national economy to predict the economic effects 

of residential and commercial buildings technologies. ImSET collects estimates of initial 

investments, energy savings, and economic activity associated with spending the savings 

resulting from standards (e.g., changes in final demand in personal consumption, business 

investment and spending, and government spending). It provides overall estimates of the change 

in national output for each input-output sector. The model applies estimates of employment and 

wage income per dollar of economic output for each sector and calculates impacts on national 

employment and wage income. 

Energy-efficiency technology primarily affects the U.S. economy along three spending 

pathways. First, general investment funds are diverted to sectors that manufacture, install, and 

maintain energy-efficient appliances. The increased cost of appliances leads to higher 

15-1 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

employment in the appliance manufacturing sectors and lower employment in other economic 

sectors. Second, commercial firm and residential spending are redirected from utilities toward 

firms that supply production inputs. Third, electric utility sector investment funds are released 

for use in other sectors of the economy. When consumers use less energy, electric utilities 

experience relative reductions in demand which leads to reductions in utility sector investment 

and employment. 

15.3 RESULTS 

The results in this section refer to impacts of commercial clothes washer, conventional 

cooking product, and microwave oven standards relative to the base case for each appliance. 

DOE disaggregated the impact of conventional cooking product, microwave oven, and 

commercial clothes washer standards on employment into three component effects: increased 

capital investment costs, decreased energy and water costs, and changes in operations and 

maintenance costs. 

15.3.1 Increased Capital Investment Cost Impacts 

Figures 15.3.1–15.3.4 show the employment impacts of the increased investment and 

spending on more-efficient equipment. Because appliance manufacturing is relatively capitalintensive compared to other sectors of the economy, the net result is a small loss of employment. 

-0.5 

-0.4 

-0.3 

-0.2 

-0.1 

0 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

Figure 15.3.1 Conventional Cooking Products Employment Impact of 

Increased Equipment Cost 

15-2 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
. .

 

 

 

 

-0.25 

-0.2 

-0.15 

-0.1 

-0.05 

0 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000)

TSL 1a 

TSL 2a 

TSL 3a 

TSL 4a 

Figure 15.3.2 Microwave Oven EF Employment Impact of Increased 

Equipment Cost 

-0.05 

-0.04 

-0.03 

-0.02 

-0.01 

0 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL1b 

TSL2b 

TSL3b 

TSL4b 

Figure 15.3.3 Microwave Oven Standby Power Employment Impact of 

Increased Equipment Cost 

15-3 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-0.030 

-0.025 

-0.020 

-0.015 

-0.010 

-0.005 

0.000 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

TSL 5 

Figure 15.3.4 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impact of 

Increased Equipment Cost 

15.3.2 Decreased Energy and Water Costs Impacts 

Figures 15.3.5–15.3.8 show the employment impact of redirected spending made possible 

by appliance energy savings. In this case, the employment impact is strongly positive, increasing 

employment in the sectors that supply these firms with production, investment, or financial 

inputs. Due to an error in the distribution of water savings in ImSET, DOE adds the dollar value 

of water savings to electricity savings, as the cost multipliers and labor intensity of the water 

sector and the electricity generation sector are similar. This only affects the employment impact 

estimates for commercial clothes washer TSLs, since conventional cooking product and 

microwave oven TSLs only include natural gas and electricity use reductions. 

15-4 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
.

 

 

 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 1.6 

1.4 

1.2 

1 

0.8 

0.6 

0.4 

0.2 

0 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Figure 15.3.5 Conventional Cooking Product Employment Impact of 

Energy Savings 

0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1 

1.2 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1a 

TSL 2a 

TSL 3a 

TSL 4a 

Figure 15.3.6 Microwave Oven EF Employment Impact of Energy 

Savings 

15-5 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
.

 

 

 

 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1b 

TSL 2b 

TSL 3b 

TSL 4b 

Figure 15.3.7 Microwave Oven Standby Power Employment Impact of 

Energy Savings 

0 

0.1 

0.2 

0.3 

0.4 

0.5 

0.6 

0.7 

0.8 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

TSL 5 

Figure 15.3.8 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impact of 

Energy and Water Savings 

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EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.3.3 Changes in Operations and Maintenance Costs Impacts 

Figures 15.3.9 and 15.3.10 show the employment impacts of non-energy operations and 

maintenance cost increases for commercial clothes washers and conventional cooking products. 

Operations and maintenance costs were estimated to be the same for all conventional cooking 

product TSLs. No operations and maintenance cost increase was estimated for microwave 

ovens. Repair and maintenance is comparatively labor-intensive, so the net result is a small 

increase in employment. 

-0.02 

0 

0.02 

0.04 

0.06 

0.08 

0.1 

0.12 

0.14 

0.16 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

All TSLs 

Figure 15.3.9 Conventional Cooking Products Impacts of Operations 

and Maintenance Cost Increase 

15-7 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0.000 

0.005 

0.010 

0.015 

0.020 

0.025 

0.030 

0.035 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

TSL 5 

Figure 15.3.10	 Commercial Clothes Washer Employment Impacts of 

Operations and Maintenance Cost Increase 

15.3.4 Net National Employment Impacts 

Figures 15.3.11–15.3.14 show the estimated net national employment impacts of the 

commercial clothes washer, conventional cooking products, and microwave oven trial standard 

levels. For any given year, these figures show the net change in the number of jobs in the 

economy relative to if there were no change in standards (and thus no resulting change in 

spending and cash flow patterns throughout the economy). Tables 15.3.1-15.3.4 show the net 

national employment impact in specific years. 

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EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
.

 

 

 

-0.4 

-0.2 

0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1 

1.2 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

Figure 15.3.11 Conventional Cooking Products Net National 

Employment Impacts 

0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1 

1.2 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1a 

TSL 2a 

TSL 3a 

TSL 4a 

Figure 15.3.12 Microwave Oven EF Net National Employment Impacts
 

15-9 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
.

 

 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1b 

TSL 2b 

TSL 3b 

TSL 4b 

Figure 15.3.13 Microwave Oven Standby Power Net National 

Employment Impacts 

15-10
 

EE-2006-STD-0127 COMMENT 41.2
 

 

 

 

 

 

0 

0.1 

0.2 

0.3 

0.4 

0.5 

0.6 

0.7 

0.8 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 

Year 

Incremental Jobs (1000) 

TSL 1 

TSL 2 

TSL 3 

TSL 4 

TSL 5 

Figure 15.3.14	 Commercial Clothes Washer Net National Employment 

Impacts 

Table 15.3.1 Conventional Cooking Products Net National Change in Jobs 

Trial Standard 

Level 

2012 

(thousands) 

2020 

(thousands) 

2030 

(thousands) 

2042 

(thousands) 

1 

2 

3 

4 

0.01 

0.03 

0.03 

-0.31 

0.19 

0.44 

0.46 

0.28 

0.30 

0.78 

0.84 

0.84 

0.25 

0.81 

0.90 

0.99 

Table 15.3.2 Microwave Oven EF Net National Change in Jobs
 

Trial Standard 

Level 

2012 

(thousands) 

2020 

(thousands) 

2030 

(thousands) 

2042 

(thousands) 

1a 

2a 

3a 

4a 

0.09 

0.07 

0.06 

0.02 

0.74 

0.75 

0.92 

0.96 

0.67 

0.68 

0.82 

0.84 

0.77 

0.78 

0.93 

0.96 

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Table 15.3.3 Microwave Oven Standby Power Net National Change in Jobs
 

Trial Standard 

Level 

2012 

(thousands) 

2020 

(thousands) 

2030 

(thousands) 

2042 

(thousands) 

1b 

2b 

3b 

4b 

0.31 

0.45 

0.61 

0.91 

2.06 

2.96 

4.06 

6.18 

1.90 

2.73 

3.75 

5.68 

2.19 

3.14 

4.30 

6.51 

Table 15.3.4 Commercial Clothes Washers Net National Change in Jobs
 

Trial Standard 

Level 

2012 

(thousands) 

2020 

(thousands) 

2030 

(thousands) 

2042 

(thousands) 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

0.00 

0.02 

0.02 

0.02 

0.03 

0.05 

0.33 

0.41 

0.44 

0.49 

0.07 

0.44 

0.55 

0.60 

0.66 

0.07 

0.51 

0.63 

0.68 

0.76 

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REFERENCES 

1	 Roop, J.M., M. J. Scott, and R. W. Schultz. ImSET: Impact of Sector Energy Technologies. 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. July 2005. 

2	 Scott, M. J., D. J. Hostick, and D. B. Belzer, ImBuild: Impact of Building Energy Efficiency 

Programs, April, 1998. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Richland, WA. Report No. 

PNNL-11884. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 

1830. 

3	 Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc., IMPLAN Professional: User’s Guide, Analysis Guide, 

Data Guide, 1997. Stillwater, MN. 

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