Solar jobs in the U.S. climbed nearly 20% in the 14 months through November as cheaper panels and rising electricity rates spurred people to turn to solar.

As of November, solar companies had almost 143,000 solar workers on their payrolls, up more than 23,000 from September 2012, according to a report from the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit research group. That job growth is 10 time faster than the national average for job gains.