UK datacentres will create just 25% of jobs predicted by tech sector, analysis finds
Summary
New research finds UK datacentres will create only about 10,400 jobs, much fewer than the 40,000 predicted by industry groups. These datacentres use a lot of energy and create fewer jobs per unit of power compared to other industries, raising concerns about their economic benefits and environmental impact.Key Facts
- UK datacentres planned will directly employ about 10,400 workers, not 40,000 as claimed by TechUK.
- Current datacentres have created fewer than 4,400 permanent jobs.
- Datacentres create about 8.6 jobs per megawatt of energy used, compared to 400 in car plants and over 3,600 in hospitals.
- Future datacentres planned are larger but will likely create fewer jobs per megawatt, possibly as low as 1.6 jobs per megawatt.
- Permanent jobs are for operating datacentres; temporary construction jobs are higher but not included in these figures.
- Environmental thinktank Verdant raises concerns about high energy and water use by datacentres and questions their economic value.
- The government rejects Verdant's job comparisons and methodology, emphasizing national security and digital infrastructure importance.
- Labour supports fast approval of AI datacentres, calling them critical national infrastructure for UK sovereignty.
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