The numbers
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Under construction, NA primary markets (H1 2026) | ~7,481 MW, a record | CBRE |
| Primary market vacancy (H1 2026) | ~1.4%, a record low | CBRE |
| Net absorption (H1 2026) | ~1,456 MW | CBRE |
| Atlanta under construction | ~2,882 MW, the most of any market | CBRE |
| Northern Virginia under construction | ~2,420 MW; inventory ~4,496 MW at ~0.2% vacancy | CBRE |
| Additional US construction workers needed in 2026 | Up to 349,000 | ABC, via DCD |
| Construction workers over 55 (2024) | More than 1 in 5 | DCD |
What it means
Record construction on a market with almost no vacancy means owners want capacity delivered as fast as it can be built. Every day of delay is a day of capacity nobody can lease. That pressure lands on the trades at the end of the schedule — and cabling is at the end.
Three things make low-voltage and fiber labor especially tight:
- Timing. Cabling starts after shell and power. Delays upstream compress the cabling window, so phases that were planned for one crew over eight weeks become two crews over four.
- Specialism. Ribbon splicing, high-count OTDR testing and dense MPO work are skills a general electrician or IT technician does not have. The pool is small.
- Geography. New campuses are being built where power and land are, not where the workforce is. Local labor markets around new sites often cannot supply the crews.
What project teams are doing about it
- Securing crews earlier — committing crew providers weeks before the cabling start, not days.
- Sourcing nationally — traveling crews on 21-on / 7-off rotations are now standard.
- Buying crews, not heads — foreman-led crews reach productivity faster than individuals. See staffing options compared.
- Splitting specialist scopes out — separate splicing and testing crews so the scarcest skills are not diluted.
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- How much data center capacity is under construction in North America?
- CBRE reported about 7,481 MW under construction across North American primary markets in H1 2026, a record, with Atlanta (about 2,882 MW) and Northern Virginia (about 2,420 MW) leading.
- How many construction workers does the US need?
- Associated Builders and Contractors estimated the US construction industry would need to hire up to 349,000 additional workers in 2026, as reported by DatacenterDynamics.
- Why are cabling crews especially hard to find?
- Cabling comes late in a data center schedule, after shell and power, so it absorbs earlier delays. Fiber splicing and testing are specialist skills with a small workforce, and every campus in a region tends to need them at the same time.
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