In celebration of the opening of Google’s eighth U.S.-based data center, the search giant has released a new report highlighting the impact the company has on the economy. The report, which analyzes data up to 2016, was compiled by Oxford Economics and specifically looks at factors such as job creation and the ways the company affects the economy both locally and more generally. By the conclusion, the report found that Google has generated $1.3 billion worth of economic activity in the U.S. while directly creating around 11,000 jobs as of 2016. Beyond that, the company’s impact on the liquid assets of communities where the data centers are has been estimated to create a further 4,700 jobs, with an average national jobs multiplier of 5.9. That’s hardly surprising since Google is, after all, an enormous company. However, the report doesn’t end there and this is only with consideration for the search giant’s data centers.
Of the company’s $10.5 billion investment in its data centers, approximately $2 billion was centered around renewable energy use. That’s resulted in more than 2,800 permanent jobs and supported a further 520 jobs tied in with the maintenance and operation of those solutions. Although those solutions haven’t helped Google attain its overall goals in terms of environmentally friendly operations, those are relatively staggering figures. In fact, on top of that, Google says its clean energy purchases for data centers actually outweigh the actual electricity use for those. Meanwhile, around $750 million in labor income is generated in communities where a data center is present. Of the jobs that are being created, around 1,900 are directly located at data centers while an estimated 1,100 are hired each year for maintenance and construction. Around 4,553 jobs have been generated in terms of local businesses growing up alongside those data centers.
Having said that, Google’s impact seems to be correlated with things other than jobs, too. In fact, having a Google data center seems to increase the rate at which residents obtain higher education. The report notes as much as a 1.1-percent increase in the number of college-educated residents following Google’s arrival. It seems as though having a Google data center nearby has a net positive impact across the board wherever they are located. Of course, the report itself goes into much greater detail about the figures, breaking things down by the impact on various specific industries. So, there’s far too much information there to cover here but anybody interested in checking that out can click the button below.
Read the full report (PDF)
