● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
UK Datacentres Projected to Create 75% Fewer Jobs Than Tech Sector Estimates
Key points
- Verdant predicts 10,400 direct jobs from planned UK datacentres.
- TechUK projected over 40,000 jobs from the same projects.
- Existing datacentres created fewer than 4,400 jobs.
- Future large-scale projects may create even fewer jobs per megawatt.
Job Creation Discrepancy
Environmental thinktank Verdant released an analysis stating that planned UK datacentres are expected to create only 10,400 direct jobs. This figure is a quarter of the more than 40,000 jobs previously cited by the industry lobby group TechUK and echoed by the government.
Verdant's analysis is based on data from 20 projects, including planning applications, company accounts, press releases, and international comparisons. It focuses on permanent operational and maintenance roles, excluding temporary construction jobs.
Current and Future Job Intensity
Datacentres already built in the UK have created fewer than 4,400 jobs, equating to approximately 8.6 jobs per megawatt of energy consumed. This contrasts with TechUK's projection of 43.7 jobs per megawatt.
Verdant further argues that many future projects are larger in scale and are likely to be even less job-intensive, potentially creating as few as 1.6 permanent positions per megawatt.
Economic and Environmental Concerns
James Meadway, Verdant's co-director, stated that the rapid pace of datacentre buildout is supported by "flimsy economic grounds." He highlighted the significant costs to local communities and climate ambitions due to the vast energy and water demands of these facilities.
Verdant compared the job creation of datacentres (8.6 jobs per megawatt) to other industries, such as car plants (around 400 jobs per megawatt) and hospitals (over 3,600 jobs per megawatt), to illustrate the resource intensity versus job output.
Government Response
A government spokesperson rejected Verdant's comparison and questioned its methodology. The spokesperson stated that the report relies on a "deeply misleading jobs-per-megawatt metric," makes "false comparisons with hospitals and schools," and "appears to confuse electricity capacity with actual consumption." The government also argued that the report discounts the wider economic value of compute.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
A new analysis by the environmental thinktank Verdant predicts that UK datacentres will create only 10,400 direct jobs, significantly less than the 40,000 jobs projected by the industry lobby group TechUK. This discrepancy raises questions about the economic benefits of rapid datacentre expansion, especially given their high energy consumption and the government's support for these projects.