Renaissance Macro Research estimates that industries linked to the artificial intelligence data center buildout added roughly 17,800 U.S. payroll jobs a month in September, based on a six-month moving average of employment changes across selected sectors.
Nonresidential specialty trade contractors, including electricians and other skilled trades, contributed 9,600 jobs a month, more than half the total and the largest single component of the measure.
Nonresidential building construction added 2,100 jobs, while electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing and computer and electronic product manufacturing each contributed 1,800 jobs.
Heavy and civil engineering construction added 1,500 jobs, and utilities contributed about 950 jobs, rounding out a measure that was close to zero as recently as October 2025.
The pattern fits a broader run of 2026 data showing data-center-related construction propping up hiring, including prior monthly estimates of 7,800 and 12,300 specialty-trade jobs in August and September respectively, and a 22,000-job construction gain in July that analysts tied to the AI buildout.
RenMac's figures track employment across broader industries that also serve projects unrelated to AI data centers, so the measure illustrates hiring trends in associated sectors rather than isolating jobs directly created by the buildout.
Industry observers note that construction-phase employment tends to be substantial, while the ongoing operation of completed data centers typically requires far fewer workers once facilities are running.
