Idaho National Laboratory’s economic impact grows in 2016

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The Idaho National Laboratory contributed $1.9 billion to the state’s economic output in fiscal year 2016, about 20 percent more than 2015.

The Post Register reports (http://bit.ly/2jbuAs2 ) that according to a new report by Rexburg’s Research & Business Development Center, the lab’s gross economic activity made up 2.9 percent of the state’s total economic fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

Will Jensen, the report’s author, says the growth in economic impact compared to 2015 was in part because the INL added jobs and received more funding. Another factor was that the goods and services the INL needs are increasingly located within Idaho, meaning lab spending benefits the state.