Fed labs have $1.5 billion impact on state economy

BOULDER — The federal laboratories in Colorado together with their affiliates contributed $1.5 billion to the state economy in 2010, and accounted for more than 16,000 direct and indirect jobs, a new survey shows.

The $1.5 billion impact is a 36 percent increase compared with the $1.1 billion impact for 2007, when the Business Research Division of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business last conducted a survey and analysis.

The study, Impact of Federal Research Laboratories in Colorado 2009-2010, was conducted for Co-Labs, a consortium of federally funded scientific laboratories, universities, businesses, local governments and community leaders.

There are 24 federal labs in Colorado, ranging from large institutions such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to smaller organizations such as the Bureau of Reclamation Technical Services Center and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

The study was prepared to quantify the economic impacts that federal research facilities and their university affiliates have on Boulder, Jefferson and Larimer counties, and on Colorado.

The study also aimed to assess the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on the Colorado labs and on the surrounding communities. It found that total ARRA construction spending jumped from $2.7 million in 2009 to $102.7 million in 2010.

Net economic benefits to Boulder County totaled $463.8 million in 2010, while the totals for Jefferson and Larimer counties were $413.2 million and $99.5 million, respectively. Economic benefits to the rest of the state totaled $523 million. In total, the facilities account for 7,964 direct jobs in Colorado and an additional 8,521 indirect jobs in 2010.

Total construction at the facilities, which occupy 4.7 million square feet of leased and owned real estate, topped $84 million in 2009 and $201 million in 2010.

The full study is available at the Co-Labs website at www.co-labs.org/.

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