Will AI data centers actually create as many jobs as promised? Probably not, new report warns

• Verdant argues some figures are overestimated by as much as 4-5x
• Steel and vehicle manufacturing are more likely to support jobs
• Megawatt growth doesn't correlate with job growth

A new Verdant report has argued data centers are unlikely to create as many jobs as many companies and reports believe – its latest estimations put all currently planned UK data centers at 10,400 permanent operational jobs, compared with the 40,200 jobs that industry body techUK projects.

techUK also claims that current data centers that are already in operation already support 24,300 jobs – a figure that Verdant contests as being closer to 4,400.

Ultimately, Verdant criticizes other estimations including techUK's for using older figures based on smaller campuses, but as data centers grow and become increasingly automated, they require fewer staff.

Are data centers actually creating that many jobs?

In short, Verdant explains that increasing automation means compute capacity can expand without employment rising proportionally, so adding another megawatt of compute doesn't necessarily mean adding a fixed number of new workers. Therefore, its rough estimation of 1.2 jobs per MW for new developments isn't hugely representative of all facilities.

The report also expects employment density to decrease further as facilities get larger, comparing data centers unfavorably to steel plants, vehicle manufacturing plants, hospitals and schools.

"The briefing concludes that while data centres may offer other benefits, employment cannot credibly be the primary justification for continued rapid build-out," the company wrote, calling for a pause on construction and wider public discussion.

All of this, of course, against the backdrop of hyperscalers investing billions to grow their capacities, with each new campus and expansion promising hundreds or thousands of operational jobs and tens of thousands of related roles across the likes of construction.

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