Data center jobs have doubled in Washington state since 2018
Data center jobs in Washington have more than doubled since 2018, with over 23,000 people employed in the industry statewide as of last year, per Census Bureau data.
Why it matters: Companies, investors and governments are pouring tons of money and resources into data centers to help power AI and other next-gen tech, but there's debate over how many jobs they'll create and whether they're worth the energy required to run them.
By the numbers: Among states, Washington saw the eighth-biggest increase in data center employment between the first quarters of 2018 and 2024, notching 106% growth, per the U.S. Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators.
These numbers include data centers as well as web hosting and a few other related fields.
Reality check: Data center jobs still make up a small sliver of U.S. employment overall.
The 452,000 data center jobs recorded nationwide early last year comprised less than half a percent of all U.S. private-sector jobs at that time.
Zoom in: Seattle-area companies such as Amazon and Microsoft are among those fueling the data center industry's growth.
In Central Washington, Microsoft runs large data centers in Quincy and is adding data centers in East Wenatchee and Malaga, according to its website.
State of play: Washington lawmakers passed a tax break in 2010 encouraging data centers to locate here.
But the centers are straining electricity resources of some public utilities throughout the state, which may complicate Washington's plans to decarbonize its electrical grid, the Seattle Times and ProPublica reported last year.
In Seattle, which is home to several smaller data centers, the amount of power used by the industry has grown fivefold since 2016, per the Times and ProPublica.
In 2022, data centers used at least 10% of the city's power, or enough electricity to power roughly 90,000 homes, the news organizations reported.
What we're watching: Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion in the 2025 fiscal year building data centers that can handle the demands of AI, vice president and chair Brad Smith wrote in a blog post this month.
Amazon, meanwhile, plans to spend $150 billion on data centers over 15 years, Bloomberg reported last spring.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Adobe beats Q2 estimates, raises guidance on AI innovations
Adobe (ADBE) shares are getting an initial lift in Thursday's extended hours right after releasing fiscal second quarter results, posting revenue of $5.87 billion (vs. estimates of $5.8 billion) and adjusted earnings per share of $5.06 (vs. estimates of $4.98 per share). Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton dive into the creative software company's earnings print, as the company outdid Wall Street's third quarter revenue and earnings forecasts, and Adobe's AI investment affirmations. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Equifax Secures 35 New Patents, Advancing Responsible AI, Machine Learning, and Fraud & Identity Solutions
New Patents Secured in the First Half of 2025 Help Drive Responsible AI Innovation and Create More Effective Insights for Customers ATLANTA, June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax® (NYSE: EFX) has secured 35 new patents in the first half of 2025. These new patents, which bring the number of Equifax issued or pending patents to nearly 650 patents spanning 15 countries, encompass distinctive techniques in artificial intelligence and machine learning, data & analytics, cybersecurity, and identity & fraud solutions. Patents protect the unique innovations created for the benefit of the businesses, customers and consumers Equifax serves in 24 countries around the world. "With innovation made possible by the Equifax Cloud™, our latest patents reflect our continued commitment to developing new technologies and solutions that empower our customers to drive greater access to financial opportunity to more people in more places," said Harald Schneider, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Equifax. "We have more than 1,000 Equifax analytics professionals across the globe dedicated to solving the complex and evolving challenges faced by both our customers and consumers." The custom-built Equifax Cloud is a top-tier global technology and security infrastructure that continues to set the company apart in the industry. The Equifax Cloud and custom data fabric enable the organization to drive AI innovation and maximize capabilities for faster solution implementation, cloud-native model deployment and expedited consumer decisioning and aids the organization in developing solutions that are faster, more reliable, more powerful, and more secure than ever before. The latest technology and innovation covered by the most recent Equifax patents include: Automated Model Development Process (European Patent Office with national validations in Ireland, United Kingdom and Spain) - Developing highly predictive models is a strategic capability for Equifax. This patent relates to an automated model development tool that helps in creating analytical models for machine learning applications, automating several processes like data exploration, variable selections, auto binning and model refinement. These capabilities enable Equifax Data Scientists to produce more accurate and standardized models while streamlining and accelerating the model development process. Automatically Generating Search Index for Expediting Searching of a Computerized Database (U.S.) - This patent describes a method for automatically generating search indexes to make searching large computer databases much faster and more efficient. The patented process automatically creates "search indexes" and learns through previous interactions, identifying common and effective search patterns that, when applied, efficiently narrow down the search space to a much smaller, more relevant group of records. Detecting Synthetic Online Entities Facilitated by Primary Entities (Australia) - The patent is related to a system that analyzes the rate at which secondary users are added to and removed from a primary entity's accounts to identify secondary accounts that are likely involved in facilitation of synthetic identity fraud. Production-ready Attributes Creation and Management for Software Development (India) - The patent describes a development tool designed to streamline the creation and management of model attributes, minimizing the need for manual recoding and validation when deploying attributes in a production environment. It addresses the potential problems that can occur in traditional software development processes when developers rewrite attribute code across different programming languages and environments, reducing the development time, minimizing errors, and improving the overall efficiency of model deployment. Techniques for Determining Legitimacy of Email Addresses for Online Access Control (U.S.) - Determining the legitimacy of an email address is a critical aspect of detecting various types of fraud. This patent specifically relates to a system that does not rely on past interactions with a specific email address to determine its legitimacy and can therefore be used to determine the risk associated with email addresses never before seen by the system. Updating Attribute Data Structures to Indicate Trends in Attribute Data Provided to Automated Modeling Systems (Canada) - The patent is a system and method for updating attribute data structures to include "trend attributes," which indicate patterns in time-series data for automated modeling systems. It addresses a challenge associated with traditional automated modeling systems that may rely on static "snapshots" of data at a single point in time. Learn more about the Equifax commitment to responsible AI innovation at The most recent list of issued Equifax Intellectual Property is available here. ABOUT EQUIFAX Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by nearly 15,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit FOR MORE INFORMATION: Alexandra Packey for Equifaxmediainquiries@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Equifax Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
The U.S. dollar hasn't been this weak in 3 years. What that means for stock investors
The U.S. dollar index on Thursday hit its lowest level since late March 2022 — putting renewed spotlight on what has been one of the biggest stories in financial markets this year: the weakening greenback. As the world's reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is held in large quantities by global central banks. Key commodities such as gold and oil are priced in dollars. Many foreign transactions, even when American parties aren't involved, also are conducted in dollars. When something that important reaches multiyear lows, investors and consumers alike are forced to consider the implications of the move for U.S. markets and the economy as a whole. At the heart of it is exchange rates. What is the rate at which a foreign buyer can exchange their local currency for dollars? And what is the rate at which Americans can exchange their dollars for foreign currencies? Those who have traveled internationally are likely quite familiar with this. From the investor perspective, the question is how the strength of the dollar plays into our companies' sales and earnings. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies including the euro and Japanese yen, has trended lower since January. However, its losses picked up steam after President Donald Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2. While many assets sold off then and have since recovered, the dollar hasn't shared the same fate. When the dollar is strong, foreign buyers need to trade in more of their local currency — the currency they save and spend in — for U.S. dollars in order to purchase any dollar-denominated goods. Keep in mind: Even if a European purchases an iPhone in euros, those euros are eventually converted to dollars and that conversion rate is going to factor into the euro-denominated price that European shoppers may see in their local store. On the other hand, a weak dollar means that foreign buyers have relatively more buying power. When their local currency strengthens against the dollar, they can trade in fewer local currency units such as euros for an equal number of dollars. In effect, the price has gone down, a dynamic that usually leads to an increase in demand — all else equal. Sales going up because the foreign buyer feels a relative increase in their buying power is one reason why a weaker dollar is generally positive for U.S. companies' overseas business. To be sure, in this scenario, the U.S. company may see an increase in costs for any supplies that it needs to import from foreign countries because their dollars are worth less. However, because companies sell goods and services for more than it costs to make them, the end result is generally a net positive for earnings — the magnitude of that benefit depends, of course, on the share of sales generated outside the U.S. and the makeup of the supply chain. On Microsoft's most recent earnings call, CFO Amy Hood illustrated this dynamic (FX is shorthand for foreign exchange): "With the weakening of the U.S. dollar in April, we now expect FX to increase total revenue growth by 1 point. Within the segments, we expect FX to increase revenue growth by 1 point in Productivity and Business Processes and less than 1 point in Intelligent Cloud and More Personal Computing. We expect FX to increase [cost of goods sold] operating expense growth by less than 1 point." As we see, Microsoft is expecting cost of goods sold to increase at a lower percentage than the benefit to revenue growth. Indeed, we heard similar commentary Thursday from Wall Street veteran and IBM Vice Chair Gary Cohn. Appearing on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday morning, Cohn affirmed that the weaker dollar is good for IBM. "Yeah, it is," he said. "IBM is an American-based manufacturing company that sells a lot of overseas and repatriates earnings. Think of U.S. domiciled multinational corporations that sell product overseas and report dollar-based earnings." To recap: For investors, a weaker dollar should generally be viewed as a tailwind for foreign sales of U.S. companies — even though some of the benefit may be offset by inputs sourced from foreign markets that are purchased in dollars. The net effect on the bottom line depends on each individual companies' mix of foreign and domestic sales and inputs. There are additional ripple effects on consumer behavior that investors should monitor, beyond the euro-denominated iPhone example we touched on above. Arguably the most important is travel demand, which obviously impacts all sorts of companies including Club name Disney and Bullpen member Airbnb . A weaker dollar means that U.S. citizens traveling abroad will need to convert more dollars than before into the currency of their destination. Consequently, U.S. consumer appetite for international travel should be expected to take a bit of a hit. Back in 2022, when the euro and dollar hit parity for the first time in two decades , everyone was talking about how good it was to be an American traveler going to Europe that summer. It's a different ballgame now. The beneficiaries this summer are foreign travelers coming to the U.S., who will arrive with relatively more buying power than they otherwise would have in January. The U.S. dollar index ended that month around 108. It's around 98 on Thursday. The implication is that a trip to Disney's theme parks in Florida and California is relatively more affordable for intentional travelers than it was just a few months ago. In this way, U.S. companies also may be able to benefit in the domestic market from an increase in foreign tourism — unless there are other countervailing forces that would make them want to travel elsewhere . How does all of this play into our investment decisions? The answer is that it's one data point that we consider in the much larger universe of data. As fundamental investors, we must be aware of the implications of macroeconomic forces such as currency markets. But they do not, by themselves, drive our moves. Consider the case of Apple , where its growth potential in foreign markets is a major opportunity and reason to be optimistic about its future. In that sense, it's reasonable to assume that a weaker dollar would be a positive for the company – and indeed, it is. However, it is not a large enough positive for us to forget about all the other headwinds for Apple. Sure, the dollar is weaker, but it still must deal with tariffs resulting from where its goods are manufactured. There are court battles threatening its lucrative services business. Of course, there's the seeming lack of progress on Apple Intelligence. History suggests Apple is a strong enough operator to navigate these issues – and we are not counting them out of the AI race just yet, given its record-high installed base is a major advantage. The point is that there are much bigger considerations in our investment decisions than currency fluctuations. Or consider the case of Home Depot , which does 92% of sales in the U.S. but sources many goods internationally. The dollar is headwind – to the tune of $275 million in sales in the first quarter – given that the bulk of demand comes from U.S. consumers and the weak dollar serves to increase the supply costs (not unlike an import tariff). However, that is not in our view enough to sell the stock, not when interest rates are expected to decline and in turn provide a boost to the housing market, whether that's through renovations or new building activity. Finally, while we won't get too political, investors should also keep tabs on what is fueling the move in currency markets. In a lot of cases, the "why" behind the move is likely to be far more useful to investors than the absolute strength or weakness of the greenback. In other words, we must ask ourselves what is causing the move, and then ask ourselves what that cause means for our investments. For example, consider a situation where the dollar is weakening simply because interest rates are expected to move lower as the rate of inflation declines – and so there's less demand for U.S. government bonds and the dollars needed to purchase those bonds. That's a pretty solid reason for a weakening dollar and there wouldn't be a cause for concern among investors. On the other hand, if the dollar – or any other currency for that matter – is weakening because investors are growing concerned about the stability in that country, that would likely be cause for concern because it may portend a fundamental shift in capital flow dynamics. In the end though, these are more so concerns for macro-oriented investors. As primarily bottoms-up fundamental investors with a long-term time horizon, we are much more focused on happening with companies themselves — and the industries they're operating in — than we are with the strength of the U.S. dollar in any given stretch of time. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long HD, DIS and AAPL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
