UK Datacentres to Create Only a Quarter of Jobs Predicted by Tech Industry, Study Finds

New research from environmental thinktank Verdant has found that datacentres planned for the UK are likely to create significantly fewer jobs than the technology sector has claimed, while consuming substantial amounts of energy.

According to Verdant's analysis, all currently planned datacentres in the UK are expected to directly employ around 10,400 workers. This figure stands in stark contrast to projections of more than 40,000 jobs cited by TechUK, the industry lobby group representing the technology sector.

The findings suggest that job creation from the datacentre boom, which has been promoted as a major economic benefit by both industry and government supporters, may be considerably overstated compared to actual employment outcomes.

Verdant's research also highlighted concerns about the energy consumption associated with these facilities, noting that datacentres require vast amounts of power to operate, raising questions about the environmental trade-offs involved in the sector's expansion.

The discrepancy between industry projections and independent analysis comes amid growing scrutiny of the UK's push to expand its datacentre infrastructure, a sector that has attracted significant investment as demand grows for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.