The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 U.S. Energy and Employment Report indicates that nearly 112,000 workers were employed by the U.S. renewable fuels industry last year, accounting for roughly 10% of total U.S. employment in the fuels sector.
Corn ethanol accounted for 36,100 employees, or 3% of the total fuels workforce. The woody biomass/cellulosic biofuel sector employed 33,800 workers, also accounting for 3% of the total fuels workforce, while other biofuels employed 41,900, or 4% of the total fuels workforce. The category of “other biofuels” is defined to include renewable diesel, biodiesel, waste fuels and other ethanol/non-woody biomass, including sugarcane ethanol.
In the corn ethanol sector, 46% of workers were employed in the agriculture and forestry sector, with 27% in manufacturing, 19% in wholesale trade and 8% in professional and businesses services.
For woody biomass and cellulosic biofuels, 51% of workers were employed in agriculture and forestry, with 14% in manufacturing, 3% in wholesale trade and 32% in professional and business services.
For other biofuels, only 7% worked in agriculture and forestry, while 10% worked in manufacturing, 18% worked in wholesale trade and 65% worked in professional and business services.
Employers in the corn ethanol sector expect a 2.1% increase in employment this year. Employment in wood biomass and cellulosic biofuels is expected to increase 2.2%, while employment in other biofuels is expected to expand by 3.9%.
The corn ethanol workforce is 31% women, higher than the 26% average for the energy sector as a whole. The representation of veterans is 16%, up significantly from the overall energy workforce average of 9%. Women also represent 31% of the woody biomass and cellulosic biofuels workforce, while veterans represent 14%. In other biofuels, women account for 33% of the workforce and veterans account for 13%.
A full copy of the report is available on the DOE website.
