Report: Data centers, energy to drive construction job growth By EPN Staff The United States' growing hunger for energy, fueled in part by a coming artificial intelligence bloom, will boost the construction industry as new infrastructure is built, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics researchers said in recent analysis. In fact, the fastest growing construction sectors over the coming decade will likely be “directly related” to the expansion of power generation, data centers and electric vehicle infrastructure, the researchers said, driving faster-than-average growth for the entire construction sector through 2033. Why it matters The research shows the nation’s economic fortunes are strongly tied to technological innovation and policies that enable it to flourish. Renewable energy jobs in general - a small slice of the economy now - are expected to grow some 40% by 2033, the bureau said. The two fastest growing construction jobs overall, the BLS said, will be wind turbine service technician and solar panel installer. Jobs building power and communication lines, and in the electrical wiring sector, are predicted to grow 6.6%, above the 4.7% growth predicted for the construction industry writ large, and faster than the 4% predicted for all industries. The overall construction sector should also be boosted by data center construction, the BLS said, generating growth for a range of construction sub-sectors, including plumbing, HVAC and other subcontractors. HVAC will be particularly important for data centers, which require clean air and a trustworthy cooling system to keep hundreds of computer servers from overheating. The BLS predicts 41,000 new HVACR - Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – jobs will be needed to install and maintain climate control in buildings by 2033, with data centers driving some of that demand. Bigger picture Those data centers drive electricity demand that requires new infrastructure. "One AI request, for example, uses nearly 10 times more electricity than a regular search engine request,” the researchers said in their analysis. Similarly, increased electric vehicle adoption means the country will need more charging stations, in public and at homes. That boosts electricians, who are needed for other tasks, too. “About 84,300 new electricians will be needed by 2033 to perform [EV charging station and data center] work as well as install wiring in all the buildings constructed and remodeled,” the BLS said. “Some states require electricians to connect solar panels to homes and the power grid.” It also underscores the need for new transmission lines, generation capacity and other associated activity. Additional context The Great Recession caused the construction sector to lose more than 2 million jobs by 2011, bringing it down to about 5.5 million, according to the BLS. It took more than a decade to get back to 2006 employment levels, but in 2023 U.S. construction employment reached an all-time high of 8.0 million. The previous peak was about 7.7 million jobs in 2006.
