Rio Rancho’s adjacency to Albuquerque allows it to draw from the largest labor pool in New Mexico. Sandoval County, which encompasses most of Rio Rancho, has a labor force of about 52,003 and is included in the Albuquerque MSA definition. The table below presents the most recent estimate data for the State by county. Rio Rancho is in both Sandoval and Bernalillo counties (Note: little to no population lives within the Bernalillo County section of the City limits at this time).
2012 Albuquerque MSA Labor Force
Rio Rancho Labor Force
Data Collection
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of labor Statistics (BLS) publishes employment statistics for Rio Rancho on a monthly basis. The term labor force, as used by BLS, typically refers to the total number of persons 16 years of age and older and classified as employed or unemployed. The civilian labor force is defined as the total labor force, excluding persons in the armed forces. The civilian labor force is equal to employment plus unemployment.