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The stakes are high for Colorado. ULA employs more than 1,700 people in the state, and they are important jobs. According to a Brookings Institute study, launch-related jobs in Colorado paid an average wage of $107,000 in 2011, compared to the state private-sector average of $49,000. And the job growth in the sector from 2002-2011 was an impressive 67%, compared to 4.4% overall.