Krugman says data centers may create far fewer jobs than other investments

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  Paul Krugman estimates that investing in data centers creates only 1% as many jobs as spending the same amount in another sector.

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  The analysis focuses on the United States and estimates that data center investment will mean 10 million fewer workers are hired.

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  Krugman says building data centers requires many workers, but far fewer remain once the facilities are complete.

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  He does not say unemployment will necessarily rise by 10 million.

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  The article says lower demand for workers could push wages down and shift resources from labor to capital.

Who

Economist Paul Krugman, the 2008 Nobel laureate in economics.

What

He estimates that data center investment creates only 1% as many jobs as the same spending in another sector.

When

The article was published on October 12, 2026.

Where

The analysis focuses on the United States and is described as potentially relevant to markets such as Europe.

Why

Data centers require many workers to build but far fewer once operating, according to Krugman.

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