Focus – The AI boom brings jobs and changes the economy, but also pushes up energy prices

Data centres, the structures that serve as the “brain” of artificial intelligence by housing servers and equipment for the storage and processing of data, are increasingly affecting local economies, but the benefits differ significantly depending on the area where they are built, writes focus.it.

A study published as a preprint on SSRN, which analyses the impact of data centres across the United States, has examined their effects on employment, wages, the number of businesses, household incomes and energy costs.

According to the study, in the first three years after a centre opens, the county where it is located records on average a 0.9% rise in employment, 1.1% in wages, 1% in the number of businesses and 0.7% in household incomes.

Over the long term, the impact becomes more pronounced, reaching a 3.5% rise in employment, 5% in wages, 4.7% in the number of businesses and 1.9% in household incomes.
However, the impact is not the same in urban and rural areas.

The biggest benefits in cities

The study finds that metropolitan areas benefit more from the construction of data centres than rural areas.

This is linked to the fact that these structures require engineers, construction companies, equipment suppliers, professional services and qualified employees.

In cities, most of these human resources and services are found near the facility. In rural areas, while the number of permanent jobs may be limited, many specialised services are provided by companies from outside the area.

Nevertheless, even in non-metropolitan counties a small but measurable fall in unemployment is observed.

Energy costs also rise

One of the negative effects is linked to the very high consumption of electricity. A large data centre can consume energy at levels comparable to around 80,000 homes.

According to the study, the presence of these facilities is linked to an average rise of around 5% in electricity prices.

The analysis thus presents a two-sided picture: data centres can bring investment, jobs, wage growth and economic activity, especially in urban areas, but at the same time they can raise energy costs for local communities.

More than 2,700 data centres are counted in the U.S., while in Italy there are around 250, including existing facilities, those under construction and planned projects.