LANL releases FY23 economic impact report

Los Alamos National Laboratory employed the most people it ever has in fiscal year 2023 — remaining one of the state’s largest employers — and has continued to be a large economic driver for the state.

That’s according to a new report from the lab that is roughly two hours from Albuquerque, and which has gained international fame for a movie based on the lab’s first director, J. Robert Oppenheimer. According to the report, which tracked the fiscal year 2023 that ended Sept. 30, LANL employed 15,932 employees who earned $1.8 billion in salaries. That number does not include the 1,133 contractors at LANL.

LANL’s budget in FY23 was $4.65 billion.

Union workers, the report states, make up about 9% of the lab’s workforce at 1,433. Of those unionized employees, electricians made up the highest number at 349, followed by plumbers and pipefitters at 247. Nearly 40% of workers at LANL are native New Mexicans.

Nearly 2/3 of the lab’s employees live outside of Los Alamos County. The largest concentration of workers, however, do live in the county at 5,459. There are 3,975 lab employees who reside in Santa Fe County and 2,398 who live in Rio Arriba County. Around 1,243 LANL employees live in Bernalillo County. Other lab employees live outside the state or in other New Mexico counties.

The lab’s director, Thom Mason, said LANL is critical to New Mexico’s economy and communities.

“We feel strongly that it is our responsibility as a significant employer in New Mexico to support the places where we live and work,” Mason said.

LANL spent over $930 million with businesses in the state and paid $155 million in state gross receipts tax, the report shows.

Its work with local small businesses in FY23 served more than 200 projects, attracting $51.6 million in financing and creating or retaining nearly 1,000 jobs with salaries totaling just under $60 million.

Some of those contracts with local businesses, LANL says, include companies like Performance Maintenance Inc. The company largely serves Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties with janitorial services.

“Our current large contract has afforded us the ability to expand our business,” said Eric Quintana, CEO of PMI. “We’ve also been able to offer more competitive wages to our employees.”

Matthew Narvaiz is a business reporter for the Albuquerque Journal. His reporting focuses on economic development and cannabis. You can reach him at mnarvaiz@abqjournal.com.