The green economy is growing, but slowly.

That’s according to a report released by the Economics and Statistics Administration, a division of the Department of Commerce. Green services and businesses amounted to just 1 to 2 percent of the private business economy in 2007. And there were 1.8 million to 2.4 million green jobs in 2007, less than 2 percent of the total work force.

Still, three years have passed, and there are plenty of reasons to think that these numbers have since risen, said Mark Doms, the chief economist for the department. “There is a clear increased customer awareness of all things green,” he said.

For example, there’s the money made available recently through the Department of Energy for research in green technology and clean energy. One report last year found that the Obama’s administration’s goal of having renewables provide 25 percent of the nation’s energy by 2025 would translate into about 297,000 new jobs.

Marc Stoiber, vice president for green innovation at the Chicago-based business consultancy Maddock Douglas, said it was important to remember that jobs that might not fall under a green job classification might have strong green elements, given the drive for energy efficiency.