America is building data centers
faster than it can find workers
159.2 GW of new data centers are being built across 38 states. Someone has to wire them, cool them, and put them up — and there are not enough trade workers to do it.
Some trades the country can cover. Some it can't.
The country has a lot of tradespeople, so for most trades the data centers are not a nationwide shortage. The catch is where the data centers are: a few states are getting almost all of them, and the local workers there cannot keep up. That is where the real shortages — and the best chances to get hired and trained — show up.
Two trades are short even nationwide: ironworkers, who put up the steel, and data-center technicians, who run the buildings after they open. Electricians are the biggest single group of workers needed — about 85,983 on the job at the busiest point — and in the busiest states there are not nearly enough. Microsoft's president has called the shortage of electricians the biggest thing slowing data centers down.
Worth training up for in the country?
YES means the data centers will need more of that trade than the country can spare — so they pay well, pay to train, and run overtime. NO means there are already plenty.
"Short" means the data centers need more of that trade at the busiest point than the area has free to take on new work. Most workers stay on their regular jobs; only about 1 in 4 are free for big new projects like these.
Will the country have enough workers?
At the busiest point of the build. Bars to the left mean a shortage (good if you are in that trade). Bars to the right mean workers to spare.
The full national picture
| Trade | Needed at peak | Free to take it on | Short or extra | New data-center jobs | Train up? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 85,983 | 185,678 | 99,695 spare | 6,947 | CLOSE |
| Carpenters | 52,545 | 174,302 | 121,757 spare | — | CLOSE |
| Ironworkers | 42,992 | 16,188 | short 26,804 | — | YES |
| Pipefitters | 33,438 | 114,045 | 80,607 spare | — | NO |
| Welders | 23,884 | 105,980 | 82,096 spare | — | NO |
| HVAC/R technicians | 19,107 | 99,190 | 80,083 spare | 3,087 | NO |
| Network/low-voltage technicians | 19,107 | 37,960 | 18,853 spare | 1,544 | CLOSE |
| Data center technicians | — | 18,242 | short 8,772 | 27,014 | YES |
| Plumbers | 14,331 | 114,045 | 99,714 spare | — | NO |
| Sheet metal workers | 9,554 | 29,072 | 19,518 spare | — | CLOSE |
| Elevator mechanics | 4,777 | 5,215 | — | — | — |
"Needed at peak" is the most of that trade working across all the building at the busiest time. "Free to take it on" is how many local workers could move to data-center jobs — about 1 in 4 of the trade; the rest keep their regular jobs. "Short or extra" is the gap. "New data-center jobs" are permanent jobs that stay once a data center opens. "Train up?" is YES when the work needs more than the area can spare (so they pay well and pay to train), NO when there are plenty already. Elevator mechanics are left out of the verdict because their work depends on the building's design.
Where the work is landing
Get the free data-center jobs report
See where the work is, state by state and trade by trade. We will email you new sites as they come. Free.
GET THE FREE DATA-CENTER JOBS PLAYBOOK BY EMAIL
Which trade to pick, which state has the work, how to get hired, and what it pays.
WHICH TRADE FITS YOU?
Take the 2-minute trade-match quiz, then read the state page where the work is.
Every state in the buildout
Numbers come from a national survey of data-center building plans and from U.S. jobs and pay data. They show what is likely if the planned data centers get built, not a promise.