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What is the data-center boom doing to construction labor?
Large data centers require a mix of construction, electrical, mechanical, communications, and utility work. That demand can intensify competition for particular trades, even when other parts of construction are softer. The pressure is especially relevant to workers whose skills are also needed by utilities, manufacturers, industrial facilities, and other infrastructure projects.
The scale of the sector is growing. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that U.S. data-center employment rose from 306,000 in 2016 to 501,000 in 2023, an increase of more than 60%. Those figures count people working in data centers broadly; they are not a count of construction workers or a measure of unfilled trade jobs. Growth also varied substantially by state, so national employment figures do not show where local labor markets are tightest.
Construction spending offers a separate indicator of project activity. Citing Census Bureau data, AGC reported that data-center construction spending reached a $59.3 billion seasonally adjusted annual rate in May 2026, 23% above a year earlier and about 8% of private nonresidential construction spending. The annualized rate is not the amount spent during May. AGC also reported that 57% of contractors expected the value of their data-center projects in 2026 to exceed 2025; that is an expectation, not a completed-spending figure.
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Is there a shortage of electricians for data centers?
The available evidence supports a shortage of available and suitably qualified craft labor reported by many construction employers, but it does not establish a national count of vacant data-center electrician jobs.
In AGC and NCCER’s 2026 Workforce Survey, 1,830 people from firms of varied types and sizes responded to at least one survey section. Among all respondents, 50% said candidates for open roles lacked the required skills, certificates, or licenses. Among respondents with hourly craft openings, 87% said those jobs were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier. These are employers’ reports about recruiting and qualifications, not an independent audit of candidates.
Electricians are one important part of the mix, alongside mechanical and other skilled trades. Uptime Institute’s 2025 global data-center survey assessed that the growth of denser facilities for generative AI is likely worsening shortages in electrical and mechanical skills: larger and more numerous sites need more power distribution and cooling infrastructure. That is an industry assessment, not a measurement of how many electricians are missing in any particular U.S. region.
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Which trades and jobs do data-center projects need?
Building a data center involves more than putting up a structure and installing computer equipment. AGC describes work that includes specialized electrical systems, backup generators, cooling, fiber connectivity, security, and utility infrastructure. The occupations it identifies include:
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- Electricians and engineers for power systems and electrical installation.
- Pipefitters and plumbers for mechanical and fluid systems.
- Operating engineers, concrete specialists, and ironworkers for site preparation and construction.
- Truck drivers, project managers, and subcontractors supporting materials, coordination, and delivery.
- Fiber and security specialists for connectivity and site systems.
Some workers move between projects as construction contractors and subcontractors deliver a build. A completed site also needs ongoing facilities and operations staff. Uptime Institute says operators often develop operations employees internally, while skilled trades workers are commonly recruited with experience from utilities, manufacturing, or industrial facilities. It also flags the potential loss of experienced operations managers to retirement, which could leave fewer people available to train junior staff.
How much of the wider construction delay problem is about labor?
In the AGC/NCCER survey, 74% of respondents said they had experienced at least one significant project delay in the prior year. Forty-two percent said shortages among their own employees or their subcontractors’ employees had delayed projects, making labor shortages the most commonly cited delay cause in that survey. The finding does not mean that labor caused every delay or that data centers were responsible for all reported shortages.
Data-center competition was reported by a defined subset: 28% of survey respondents said they had worked on a data-center construction project in the previous 12 months. Among those respondents, 58% said the projects increased competition for skilled workers, 49% said they increased wage pressure, and 37% named worker or subcontractor availability as their biggest challenge in pursuing or delivering the work.
Those percentages measure employer experience and perceptions within the survey’s respondent groups. They are not shares of all U.S. construction projects, a count of workers affected, or a wage-growth estimate for electricians. As AGC chief economist Ken Simonson put it in the survey release, “The need for people to work on new data centers is keeping labor conditions tight even as demand for many other types of projects remains relatively soft.”
Why is the labor pressure concentrated in some places and roles?
Data centers cluster where projects can secure power, land, connectivity, and other infrastructure. The Census Bureau’s employment data shows uneven state-level growth, while AGC’s survey indicates that some contractors experience added competition for skilled workers. Together, those findings suggest that local labor availability matters more than a national headcount alone. They do not identify a single state-by-state shortage ranking.
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The work also overlaps with other industries. Electricians, pipefitters, and mechanical specialists may be needed by data centers as well as power projects, utilities, manufacturing, and industrial facilities. A data-center build can therefore increase competition for workers whose skills are transferable, even if the overall construction market in a region is not booming.
Globally, the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Employment 2025 provides context on energy occupations and skill needs through 2035 across IEA scenarios. Its underlying Energy Industry Employment Survey received responses from more than 700 energy firms, trade unions, and educators. Those figures concern the energy workforce, not a comparable global count of data-center labor shortages.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What could ease the shortage—and what is not yet proven?
Employers report using higher pay, recruiting, and training, while industry and government proposals emphasize expanding the pipeline of trained workers. The available sources describe these actions and proposals; they do not establish that one approach will close the gap on a particular timetable.
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Actions firms say they are taking
In the 2026 AGC/NCCER survey, more than eight in ten firms said they had increased hourly craft and salaried base pay as much as or more than in the previous year. Thirty-six percent reported initiating or increasing spending on training and professional development. Nearly half increased online recruiting, and nearly half increased engagement with high schools, colleges, or career and technical education institutions. These are reported employer actions, not proof of their effectiveness.
Training and apprenticeship proposals
Uptime Institute recommends greater collaboration with local trade schools to expand the supply of electricians and similar workers. A 2025 U.S. Senate hearing record discussing AI infrastructure included proposals to expand registered electrician apprenticeships, training centers, high-school industrial arts, and community-college training for electricians and pipefitters.
In that hearing testimony, a witness estimated that the United States would need to recruit and train 500,000 new electricians over the next decade to meet growing electricity needs. That is the witness’s estimate in testimony, not an independently verified government projection or a data-center-only hiring forecast. The testimony also described a national shortage of skilled electricians and pipefitters as a major challenge for data-center expansion; it is a stakeholder statement, not a formal committee finding.
What does this mean for workers considering a trade career?
Data-center projects may add opportunities for people with relevant construction and technical skills, but national growth statistics and employer reports do not guarantee a local opening, a particular wage, or steady work. A build-phase job may be tied to a project and location, while facility operations work continues after construction but calls for a different set of skills.
- Check local demand rather than assuming national growth applies to your area; data-center employment growth has varied by state.
- Compare the work involved in construction trades with facility operations roles before choosing a training path.
- Ask prospective training providers or employers which skills, certificates, licenses, and apprenticeship routes are required for the roles you want.
- Consider transferable experience from utilities, manufacturing, or industrial facilities where it matches the role.
The IEA’s energy-workforce outlook can help frame the broader competition for electrical and infrastructure skills, but it should not be read as a forecast of data-center jobs or an individual worker’s career prospects.
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