AI’s Ripple Effect On the Construction and Manufacturing Sectors
Released each month by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reports the monthly change in job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and other employee separations. The latest survey reports there are currently 7.27 million unfilled job openings across the nation, up 721,000 this year. This translates to roughly 240,000 more unfilled job openings than there are Americans who are unemployed and actively looking for work.
Two areas of the economy seeing some of the greatest surge in job openings are the Construction and Manufacturing sectors. So far this year, the Construction sector has added 81,000 new job openings, a gain of 33%. Likewise, the number of job openings in the Manufacturing sector has increased by 154,000, a gain of 36%.
So, what’s behind this surge in the number of construction and manufacturing job openings? The answer comes in the form of an unlikely ally – the booming artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
According to research and consulting firm Gartner, this year, global spending on AI is expected to reach $2.6 trillion. By 2030, that spending total is projected to soar to $6 trillion. But all that AI spending – and use – requires a massive amount of infrastructure to support it.
At the heart of this infrastructure are AI data centers. These are highly specialized facilities that can contain hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of high-performance microchips – typically graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI accelerators – that work in parallel to optimize AI models and algorithms.
There are thousands of data centers currently in operation within the U.S. Some are small enough to be housed in a single pre-existing building. Others, however, are much larger in size and scale.
The PORTS Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio is a multi-phase regional data center and infrastructure project that is expected to cost over $500 billion by its completion in 2032. The initial footprint of the complex is expected to be around 640 acres. That’s equivalent to one square mile. The project has access to an additional 2,700 acres (4.2 square miles) of federal and private lands for future development. The project, anchored by tech giants NVIDIA and OpenAI, is expected to yield 35,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent operational jobs.
Before data centers are built, the site requires excavation, road construction and the installation of utilities. And to build these data centers- and the energy they use- requires a massive amount of construction and manufacturing materials and labor. In fact, the ongoing buildout of AI infrastructure has created one of the largest industrial investment cycles in our nation’s history.
A prime example of this symbiotic relationship between the AI industry and the Construction and Manufacturing sectors is Caterpillar. The build-out of data centers requires excavators, bulldozers, loaders and other heavy machinery and equipment – all of which Caterpillar can supply. Once built, data centers require tremendous amounts of electricity. Caterpillar supplies generator sets, turbines, backup power systems and distributed power solutions to provide reliable and scalable energy required by data centers.
On Aug. 4, Caterpillar released its financial results for the April-June second quarter. The company reported consolidated sales and revenues of $20.5 billion, up 24% from the second quarter of 2025. It also reported an operating profit of $4.3 billion, up 50% from the second quarter of 2025.
The AI revolution is creating more than just software and technology jobs. It is generating a powerful wave of demand for builders, manufacturers and skilled trades workers in construction and manufacturing – two sectors at the heart of America’s industrial base.
Mark M. Grywacheski, Investment Advisor
Quad Cities Investment Group is a Registered Investment Adviser.
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