Peak construction headcount
How many people may be working at the busiest point. It is not the same as employment sustained over a year.
Data centers / Employment
Construction jobs are not permanent jobs.
Short answer: Data-center construction can involve large temporary crews, while an operating facility usually has a smaller permanent workforce. Counts are not comparable until you know the time period, project phase, whether they are direct jobs, and whether a model includes indirect or induced employment.
Evidence last reviewed 2026-08-23Cumulative workers
How many different people contributed across a period. It can count sequential crews and should not be read as simultaneous jobs.
Direct operating jobs
People working in facility operations. This is different from contractor, supplier, induced, or statewide economic-model employment.
Jobs supported
A modeled economic-impact category that may include indirect and induced effects. It is not a payroll roster or an observed outcome.
Examples, not a universal average
Keep the unit and evidence relationship attached.
Sponsor projections remain projections. Independent statewide estimates do not become facility-level facts.
Independent estimate
A representative 250,000-square-foot facility may involve about 1,500 workers at construction peak and about 50 full-time workers in ongoing operations.
A representative 250,000-square-foot facility may involve about 1,500 workers at construction peak and about 50 full-time workers in ongoing operations.
Independent estimate
JLARC modeled about 74,000 data-center-related jobs annually in Virginia: about 59,000 construction-phase and 15,000 operations-phase jobs, including roughly 35,000 direct construction and 4,400 direct operations jobs.
JLARC modeled about 74,000 data-center-related jobs annually in Virginia: about 59,000 construction-phase and 15,000 operations-phase jobs, including roughly 35,000 direct construction and 4,400 direct operations jobs.
Sponsor-reported
The developer projects 35,000 construction jobs during a six-year buildout through 2032 and 2,500 long-term operating jobs.
The developer projects 35,000 construction jobs during a six-year buildout through 2032 and 2,500 long-term operating jobs.
Sponsor-reported
Microsoft reported that nearly 10,000 construction workers contributed across about two years and about 550 full-time employees supported the first operating Mount Pleasant facility as of June 2026.
Microsoft reported that nearly 10,000 construction workers contributed across about two years and about 550 full-time employees supported the first operating Mount Pleasant facility as of June 2026.