The European solar industry is expected to lose around 5% of its workforce in 2025, marking the first employment decline for the sector in nearly ten years, according to the latest Solar Jobs Report by SolarPower Europe (SPE).

The report notes that solar employment has largely mirrored market performance. The surge in solar installations between 2022 and 2024 drove an “extraordinary” expansion in the sector’s workforce, making solar “Europe’s most powerful job engine.”

However, 2025 is showing signs of slowdown, particularly in the rooftop and residential segments—the most labour-intensive parts of the solar market. Solar installations grew by just 3.3% in 2024, a sharp drop from the 30%–50% annual growth rates seen in the previous three years.

While solar jobs still grew by 5% in 2024—outpacing the EU’s overall labour market growth of just 0.8%—SPE now forecasts a contraction this year. Approximately 40,000 jobs could be lost across the sector, with total employment falling from 865,000 to around 825,000.

“This setback reflects both policy frameworks that fail to sufficiently attract solar investment and meet consumer demand in the post-energy crisis environment, and global production overcapacity, where European manufacturers face immense competitive pressure,” the report said.

Yet, SPE emphasized that this dip does not signal long-term decline. The report points to the potential of EU-wide solar and storage policies, along with new training and workforce programs, to drive recovery.

“The medium-term outlook still foresees employment recovering from 2026 onwards, reaching more than 916,000 jobs by 2029,” the report concluded.