New Jersey needs
carpenters for its data centers
New Jersey is building 275 MW of new data centers. Here is how much carpenters work that makes — and why there are not enough carpenters for it.
Carpenters for New Jersey's data centers: about 3,141 to spare.
Will New Jersey 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.
What this means for carpenters in New Jersey
New Jersey is building 275 MW of new AI data centers across 5 sites. On a data center, carpenters pour the concrete and frame the building.
Carpenters — probably not, just for this. The data centers need about 91 carpenters, and New Jersey already has about 3,232 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.
New Jersey has 5 data-center sites in the works, with 275 MW still to build. That keeps carpenters busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.
New Jersey carpenters earn about $61,880 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced carpenters well over $100,000 a year, with health care and a pension through the union.
It is the same across the country: builders cannot find enough skilled workers. The U.S. needs about 140,000 more trade workers by 2030 to build all the data centers, and most builders say hiring is their hardest problem. Microsoft's president has called the shortage of electricians the biggest thing slowing data centers down.
The building work runs a few years, not forever — but New Jersey has enough lined up to keep you busy, and the skills carry over to every other big job in the state. To start, look at the New Jersey carpenters apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.
Get carpenters job updates for New Jersey
New New Jersey data-center sites, tips on getting hired, and pay updates for carpenters.
READ THE NATIONAL CARPENTERS SWITCH GUIDE -- $9
National carpenters training, pay, and licensing context. This is not a New Jersey-specific paid guide.
NEW JERSEY PROGRAMS
The New Jersey carpenters apprenticeship programs, schools, and licensing path.
The data centers behind these numbers
- Nebius New Jersey Data Center (Vineland) — Nebius, Vineland (300 MW)
- CoreWeave Kenilworth (NEST Campus) — CoreWeave, Kenilworth (250 MW)
- US East LGA1 – Weehawken — CoreWeave, Weehawken (30 MW)
- Equinix Hudson County NJ Proposed Expansion — Equinix, Secaucus/Jersey City area (25 MW)
- CoreSite NY3 (Secaucus) — CoreSite (American Tower), Secaucus (15 MW)