Latest news with #MichaelFlaherty
Axios
13-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
Pennsylvania sees data center job growth
Data center jobs in Pennsylvania increased by more than 48% from 2018 to 2024. 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. Zoom out: Arkansas (+241.9%), South Dakota (+179.4%) and Georgia (131.5%) had the biggest increases in data center employment between the first quarters of 2018 and 2024, per the U.S. Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators. Ohio had a nearly 56% increase in jobs. Zoom in: Pennsylvania has 71 data centers, according to Data Center Map, about 42% of which are in the Pittsburgh area. Ohio has 175 data centers. Yes, but: The raw job numbers are often relatively small. Pennsylvania had 13,452 data center jobs in Q1 2024. Ohio had 11,791. Arkansas had about 4,300. Georgia had about 25,000. Zoom out: There were about 452,000 data center jobs nationally as of Q1 2024. That's less than half a percent of all U.S. private-sector jobs at the time. Caveat: These numbers include data centers as well as web hosting and a few other related fields. The bottom line: Major tech companies are spending unprecedented amounts of money on data centers, Axios' Michael Flaherty recently reported. But that money may not generate vast employment, unlike other big spending booms. Still, backers hope buildout will attract long-term investment from artificial intelligence and other tech companies.
Axios
30-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
America's data center job hot spots
Data center work is a burgeoning field in parts of the American Southeast and elsewhere, but raw job numbers aren't generally much to write home about yet. Why it matters: Companies, investors and government 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. Driving the news: Arkansas (+241.9%), South Dakota (+179.4%) and Georgia (131.5%) had the biggest increases in data center employment between the first quarters of 2018 and 2024, per the U.S. Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators. They were followed by Louisiana (+126.3%) and Idaho (+121.1%). Yes, but: The raw numbers here are often relatively small. Arkansas had only about 4,300 data center jobs in Q1 2024, for example. Georgia had about 25,000. And South Dakota? Just 394. Zoom out: There were about 452,000 data center jobs nationally as of Q1 2024. That's less than half a percent of all U.S. private-sector jobs at the time. Caveat: These numbers include data centers as well as web hosting and a few other related fields. The bottom line: Major tech companies are spending unprecedented gobs of money on data centers, as Axios' Michael Flaherty recently reported. But all those billions upon billions of dollars may not generate that many jobs, unlike other big spending booms.
Axios
27-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
Bay Area powers ahead in data center boom amid energy costs debate
California leads the nation in data center employment, and the Bay Area is a key driver in that growth, new data shows. Why it matters: Companies, investors and the government 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. Driving the news: California, Texas, Florida, New York and Georgia comprise more than 40% of U.S. data center employment, per the U.S. Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators. At 17%, California has the highest share in the nation, followed by Texas, with 10%. Yes, but: There were about 452,000 data center jobs nationally as of the first quarter of 2024. That's less than half a percent of all U.S. private-sector jobs at the time. Caveat: These numbers include data centers as well as web hosting and a few other related fields. Zoom in: The Bay Area has had a significant role in the growth of California's data center employment, which increased by nearly 69% from 2018 to 2024. San Francisco, Santa Clara and Los Angeles accounted for almost 60% of the state's total data center employment in the first quarter of 2024. The big picture: Major tech companies are spending unprecedented amounts of money on data centers, Axios' Michael Flaherty recently reported. The boom has led state and local utilities to spend more to meet the immense power demand posed by data centers, which now consume 60% of electricity in Santa Clara. That's led to higher electricity bills and blackout risks. PG&E executives said in June that planned data center projects could add 3.5 gigawatts of demand for electricity — more than the output of three nuclear power plants, Bloomberg reported. What to watch: Tech giants are increasingly trying to manage these impacts even as data center companies look to on-site power sources to get electricity faster. Local officials are also considering ways to limit the drain on resources: San José and PG&E are partnering to build new data centers and residential housing units that will share energy in a bid to save electricity. Meanwhile, local startup NetworkOcean has ambitious plans to sink large server farms into the ocean and operate them underwater.
