UK datacentres to create just 10,400 jobs, a quarter of the 40,000 tech lobby predicted

nordicinst · x · 2026-09-09

Thinktank Verdant finds UK datacentres will directly employ only 10,400 workers — about a quarter of the 40,000+ jobs claimed by industry lobby TechUK.

Key figures: built facilities have created fewer than 4,400 direct jobs (8.6 jobs per MW of energy consumed vs 43.7 claimed); the analysis covers 20 projects with public staffing data; larger future projects will likely be even less job-intensive. Labour has defended the rapid AI datacentre rollout citing TechUK's numbers, amid growing public concern over water and energy demand.

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