Employment

A glimpse into the future of employment in the MRCOG region reveals a picture of growth. The population is expected to increase by nearly 300,000 between now and 2030, and naturally, growth in population serving employment will follow. Specifically, education and health related jobs are expected to double. Schools will be necessary to serve our expanding communities and healthcare will be particularly in demand due to not only a growing but an aging population.

Industries that are not dependant on the local population are generally more sporadic in nature. However, the region is currently enjoying growth in several such sectors. Our Science Parks are expanding and new ones are being considered, the film industry is gaining momentum with new production facilities, and several manufacturers such as Tempur-Pedic, Merillat Cabinets and Tesla Motors are choosing to locate in the region.

Job growth is expected to continue in the Albuquerque metro area. The table shows MRCOG’s long range employment projection for the MRCOG region.

Source: Bureau of Business and Economic Research, NM Department of Workforce Solutions, MRCOG

The region had approximately 400,000 jobs in 2004, and the projection is for a net growth of nearly 160,000 jobs by 2030. All employment sectors will add jobs with the exception of Agriculture, which is projected to decline slightly due to the conversion of some farm land to residential development.

The following map shows where employment growth is projected to be strongest within the metropolitan area.

Source:  MRCOG

The map shows that north I-25 Corridor is expected to continue to serve as an employment center in the future. The university and hospital districts south east of the Big I continues to attract jobs, and the Mesa del Sol development will emerge as an employment center south of Albuquerq Sunport. There are many plans in the works for new jobs to the west of the Rio Grande. SunCal Companies has taken ownership of 55,000 acres to the south and west of Petroglyph National Monument and are planning a large town center located north of I-40 at 98th Street. To the west, at Paseo del Volcan, the beginnings of an Industrial Park have taken shape with Tempur-Pedic and Shamrock Foods as its first tenants. To its north lies Double Eagle II, the site for Eclipse Aviation’s expansion. The Volcano Heights area plans include a large office campus and town center near Universe and Paseo del Norte. Rio Rancho is in the midst of growing into a new downtown which will house government offices, a sports arena, at least one major film studio and a UNM Campus. And Rancho Cielo, a proposed community to the southwest of Los Lunas, has made the development of a large Industrial Park at an expanded north Belen / I-25 interchange a priority.

If the current climate is an indication of what lies ahead for the region, we are likely to see many of these plans realized. National accolades for Albuquerque’s metro area include being deemed the nation’s hottest housing market by Housing Predictor and among the top places for business and careers by Forbes. Hispanic Magazine ranked Albuquerque as one of the top places for Hispanics and Rio Rancho was rated one of the top places to live by Money Magazine and CNN/Money. In addition, University Hospital was recently recognized as one of the nation’s best hospitals by US News & World Report.

As national migration patterns shift population to the South and West, New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande Valley is receiving recognition as a desirable destination on the map. The challenge for the future will be to engage the region in a planning process that precedes growth and addresses preservation of natural resources and the quality of life that make it the attractive place that it is today.