TechCrunch Industry News Construction workers are cashing in on the AI boom; also, Data center energy demand forecasted to soar nearly 300% through 2035
Dec 2, 2025
Construction workers are cashing in as data-center jobs offer 25-30% pay increases. Tech giants like Amazon and Google are racing to build new facilities, but a skilled-worker shortage of 439,000 looms large. Meanwhile, data center energy demand is set to soar, projected to triple by 2035. Amid rising electricity prices, larger facilities are moving to rural areas while AI's stake in data center computing grows. With a global investment surge, the future of energy and construction is buzzing with opportunity and challenges.
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Construction Workers Seeing Big Pay Jumps
- Daman Chambliss left his drywall business to supervise 200 workers at a data center and now earns over $100,000 annually.
- Other workers like Mark Benner and Andrew Mason report six-figure incomes, showing data-center construction can rapidly boost pay.
Labor Shortage Fuels Perks And Higher Pay
- Big tech firms racing to build hundreds of new data centers collide with an industry shortage of roughly 439,000 skilled workers.
- Companies are using perks and incentives like heated tents and daily bonuses to attract and retain construction labor.
Data Centers Could Triple Electricity Demand
- Planned data-center additions could nearly triple sector electricity demand to 106 GW by 2035 from 40 GW today.
- AI training and inference will drive utilization higher, approaching 40% of total data-center compute and raising average utilization rates.