The report estimated that total solar employment would fall from 874,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2025 to 766,000 FTEs in 2030 under its Medium Scenario.

The decline is expected to be driven almost entirely by the deployment segment, where employment was projected to fall by 22%, from 742,000 FTEs in 2025 to 578,000 FTEs in 2030.

The report said the projected decline did not represent a contraction of the solar industry itself but reflected a transition from a period of rapid market expansion towards a more mature market with slower installation growth.

Other segments of the solar value chain were expected to expand through 2030.

Operations and maintenance (O&M) employment was projected to increase from 78,000 FTEs in 2025 to 109,000 FTEs in 2030 as cumulative EU solar capacity grew from 411GW to 739GW.

Manufacturing employment was expected to rise from 37,000 FTEs to 49,000 FTEs if announced industrial projects were successfully delivered, while employment in decommissioning and recycling was forecast to almost double from 16,000 FTEs to 30,000 FTEs.

Deployment is nevertheless expected to remain the dominant source of solar employment, accounting for approximately 76% of jobs in 2030.

The share of jobs in manufacturing, O&M, repowering and recycling was expected to increase by nine percentage points, with those activities together representing almost a quarter of EU solar jobs by 2030.

The EU solar sector continued to expand its workforce in 2025 despite a more challenging market environment and slower deployment growth in several Member States.

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