Data centers are fueling both your AI conversations and expansion in the U.S. construction sector.
According to Brookings Institution research, AI infrastructure buildouts are poised to become the biggest capital expenditure project in American history, surpassing highway and railroad spending as a percentage of GDP.
This enormous spending surge requires workers to physically support it. Blue-collar hiring for data centers is surging, with nonresidential specialty trade contractors — such as electricians working on commercial buildings including data centers — increasing by 86,000 over the past year.
“It’s accurate to say a substantial share of current construction labor demand stems from rising data center building activity,” noted Zach Fritz, economist at Associated Builders and Contractors.
The American Institute of Architects projects, based on various nonresidential construction forecasts, that data center building expenditures will grow faster than other categories and represent roughly 8% of nonresidential construction spending by 2027.
However, the longevity of this employment surge may be uncertain. Overall construction spending declined 3.8% year-over-year as of July, per Census Bureau data, though KPMG identifies data centers as a “structural growth driver” for investment. Data center spending has jumped over 57% year-over-year, contrasting sharply with both residential and non-residential private spending trends since early 2025.
Currently, the data center boom benefits construction workers and broader industry investment.
Guy Berger, senior fellow at the Burning Glass Institute, warns that if the data center boom proves shorter than expected: “Suddenly we’ve trained numerous electricians and similar workers for roles that are no longer required,” Berger stated.
Data Center Professionals See High Demand
Indeed job listings for data center positions have surged nearly 130% from roughly two years ago, even as overall postings declined over the same timeframe. Approximately half of this year’s data center demand originated from IT infrastructure, operations, support, and installation/maintenance occupational groups.
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Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, found growing demand for certain data center roles. Comparing average monthly postings from January-August 2022 to the same period this year, electrical engineer listings in utilities rose 34%, while project management specialist postings increased 22%. In commercial and institutional construction, demand grew for construction managers, project management specialists, cost estimators, and civil engineers.
Thus, in the near term, the data center surge will likely remain a workhorse for construction. The longer-term outlook is less certain, particularly since AI infrastructure still depends on a small group of major spenders to sustain it.
“The next few years look stable with continued growth and data center construction,” Fritz said. However, increasing community resistance could eventually constrain growth rates, he noted, or technological advances might reduce space requirements.
“Various scenarios could unfold,” he added. “But none are imminent.”
The permanence of data center jobs remains uncertain, particularly post-construction, though Indeed listings indicate companies are marketing them as long-term. Aubrey Woessner, economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, noted only about two in 1,000 data center postings are temporary.
“‘Permanent’ is an employer-chosen label that may overstate role durability: Local incentive deals often mandate a specific number of permanent positions, incentivizing employers to classify them that way irrespective of actual build-out duration,” Woessner explained.
Are you in a data center-related job? Reach out to these reporters to share at mhoff@Themoneytimes.com and jkaplan@Themoneytimes.com.