Analysts see no dark clouds in
New Mexico's future. See Page B1.Before the atomic bomb, Albuquerque's main attraction was its warm, dry climate and the relief it provided tuberculosis victims.The nuclear age and a thriving defense and aerospace industry transformed the high-desert community since World War II into a metropolitan area with more than a half million people.
Today, another economic boom is afoot in Albuquerque, much of it in the construction and retail industries and among electronics and computer companies that have settled in the area.
The growth is evident in the freshly poured concrete and wooden forms in the residential neighborhoods, orange barrels guarding highway construction sites and the steel skeletons of expanding commercial buildings.
"When a city gets a reputation as a hot spot, that there are jobs there, that attracts people," said Brian McDonald, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of New Mexico. "The word gets around, especially in construction and real estate. Clearly Albuquerque is one right now."
"So people who are pushed out of their region because of a lack of opportunities are pulled into this area," he said. McDonald said New Mexicans lacking jobs in other parts of the state are finding employment here.
The Intel Corp., the nation's giant computer chip manufacturer, is doubling the size of its production plant at Rio Rancho on Albuquerque's northwest edge. The $2 billion building project will employ 3,000 construction workers by next spring.
By 1995, the company will add 1,000 full-time workers to its current work force of 2,700, who are paid salaries averaging $35,000 a year. Statewide, the average private industry wage was about $20,100 last year, according to the Commerce Department.
New Mexico's available work force and quality of life played a big role in the company's decision to expand in the state rather than relocate, says Bill Sheppard, general site services manager at Intel.
State and local governments also offered Intel a package of tax breaks and revenue bond incentives in order to win the expansion project over a host of competitors including Arizona, Oregon, California, Texas and Utah.
Other electronics companies hiring more workers in the Albuquerque area include Philips Semiconductors and Motorola, which is benefiting from increased cellular telephone sales.
In addition, Albuquerque is home to Sandia National Laboratories, which employs about 7,500 people in the city and has a $1.3 billion federal budget. Established in the 1940s to conduct nuclear weapons work, Sandia expanded into energy and environmental research and has escaped major layoffs from federal budget cuts.
The lab is on Kirtland Air Force Base, a sprawling complex with a $764 million payroll last year for 20,000 employees - military, civilian and contractors working for dozens of federal agencies, according to a base spokesman.
Sheppard is among New Mexico's newcomers who helped increase demand for housing and push up retail sales 12 percent from last year.
"My kids viewed this as a nice place to live and that's a pretty strong endorsement," says Sheppard, who just bought a house in a small community north of the Intel plant.
The Sheppards moved to the Albuquerque area from Arizona, but previously were longtime California residents.
"If we're trying to encourage some of our employees from California or Arizona to transfer to Albuquerque, that seems to be one of the stronger points - the jobs and the quality of life for their family," says Sheppard.