Despite cuts, NUWC boosted R.I. contracts in 2013 by $50M

THE NAVAL UNDERSEA Warfare Center contributed more than $874 million to the region's economy in 2013, according to facility representatives. Although NUWC's total contract spending declined in 2013 compared with the previous year, contracts awarded to Rhode Island companies increased by $50 million. / COURTESY NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIVISION NEWPORT
THE NAVAL UNDERSEA Warfare Center contributed more than $874 million to the region's economy in 2013, according to facility representatives. Although NUWC's total contract spending declined in 2013 compared with the previous year, contracts awarded to Rhode Island companies increased by $50 million. / COURTESY NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIVISION NEWPORT

NEWPORT – The Naval Undersea Warfare Center spent $602 million of its total $874 million operating budget for 2013 on payroll, contracts with local companies, and construction and support for the command and research facility in Newport.

Of the $386 million spent on NUWC contracts last year, $250 million went to Rhode Island-based businesses, while Massachusetts contractors accounted for $25 million and Connecticut contractors accounted for $10 million. The remaining $101 million in contracts was awarded to companies outside southern New England.

Although NUWC’s total contract spending in 2013 declined 8.3 percent compared with 2012, contracts awarded to Rhode Island companies increased by $50 million. In 2012, NUWC issued $200 million in contracts to Rhode Island companies, $38 million to Massachusetts companies and $10 million to Connecticut companies. Total contract spending in 2012 exceeded $421 million.

NUWC employs 2,730 civilian government workers and 24 military members at its base in Newport, with a total gross payroll of more than $286 million, making the command center the largest federal employer in the state. However, these numbers represent a slight downsizing from the previous year, when NUWC employed 2,748 civilians and 31 military members with a total gross payroll of about $296 million.

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Contractors, on the other hand, increased in 2013 as a share of the total NUWC workforce. Including contractors hired on from companies in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, NUWC’s combined workforce currently totals nearly 4,900, up from 4,700 at the end of 2012.

Contractors from those three states performed approximately 2,152 work years of labor (or about 4.5 million work hours) for NUWC in 2013, compared with 1,950 work years, or about 4.1 million work hours, during 2012.

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