The blue-collar AI job market is booming. Will data center backlash make it go bust?

When most people think of AI and jobs, the conversation often pivots to which occupations are most likely to be obliterated by its arrival. But, at least for some professions, the AI boom has been an employment one too. AI is creating jobs in a variety of trades that prop up the sprawling ecosystem that powers giants like Anthropic , Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and others. The construction and maintaining of data centers and the entire AI ecosystem is requiring a new generation of HVAC technicians, construction workers, line workers, and pipefitters. "These are occupations that are becoming increasingly important to the AI economy," said Maria Flynn, president and CEO of national nonprofit Jobs for the Future.