AI's newest demand signal is steel-toe boots

Boot Barn has nearly 600 stores. Its work-boot business has posted comparable sales growth for five straight quarters. Brunt Workwear told Reuters that California and Texas are among its strongest markets as AI infrastructure investment expands.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 22,000 more U.S. construction jobs in August. The official jobs report does not say how many came from data centers.

Boot orders show that crews are working, but they do not measure AI construction nationwide. Neither retailer disclosed data-center revenue, order volume or the share of growth tied to those projects. Data centers also face local resistance over power, water and land.

Construction can create many jobs before a facility opens. A completed data center can then operate with a much smaller permanent workforce.

Retailers could disclose revenue from bulk data-center orders. State construction payrolls and electrical-trade employment could show where projects create work. Suppliers could feel project cancellations before those losses appear in national data. Local permits, utility connections and completed facilities will show which announced projects are under construction.