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<br />~ <br /> <br />., <br />"",,,'. <br /> <br />~., <br /> <br />.. <br />~I <br /> <br />Population of the Region is projected to show the greatest relative <br />gain, its projected population in 2020 being roughly 5 times the 1965 <br />number. In contrast, the projected 2020 population for the Little <br />Colorado Subregion is only a little more than double the 1965 number. <br />The Lower Main Stem Subregion, with a population of 1.8 million in 2020, <br />is projected to increase its share of the regional total to 26 percent <br />.from 18 percent in 1965; the Little Colorado Subregion is projected to <br />have 262 thousand, 4 percent of the Region total compared with 7 percent <br />in 1965; and the Gila Subregion is projected to have 4.6 million, 70 per- <br />cent of the Region total compared with 75 percent in 1965. Hence, the <br />Gila Subregion is projected to continue as the dominant subregion in terms <br />of population, as such, and also in the proportion of the regionalpopu- <br />lation which it includes. However, the higher growth rate in the Lower <br />Main Stem Subregion should be recognized in framework planning. <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />""'*' <br /> <br />The proportion of the Region's population living in urban areas is <br />projected to increase from 74 percent in 1965 to 95 percent in 2020. <br />The proportion in urban areas is even higher in the Lower Main Stem and <br />Gila Subregions. The Little Colorado Subregion was predominantly rural <br />in 1965, the rural population comprising two-thirds of the total. Nearly <br />half the population is projected to be rural in 2020. <br /> <br />The population of the Region is younger on the average than that of <br />the Nation as a whole. The Region ranks about average from an education- <br />al viewpoint, but there are great variations within the Region. <br /> <br />The employment projections, 'which are based upon a national assump- <br />tion of full employment, are a little higher relatively than the popu- <br />lation projections, due to a small projected increase in the participation <br />rate (the proportion of the population employed). Employment in the <br />Region is projected to increase to 2.6 million in 2020, nearly 4 times <br />the 675 thousand employed in the base year. Table 1.1. Compared with <br />1965, employment in the Lower Main Stem Subregion in 2020 is projected <br />to be up 5.4 times; in the Little Colorado Subregion, up 2.7 times; and <br />in the Gila Subregion, up 3.6 times. Employment is projected to decline <br />somewhat in agriculture, forestry, and mining, and to incr~sein all <br />other industries, particularly in manufacturing and the service, industries. <br /> <br />Personal income per capita, reflecting the assumed full employment, <br />continued technological advances, etc., is projected to increase sharply <br />throughout the projection time frame, the regional projection for 2020 <br />being in exce"s of $12,000, over five times the 1965 average of about <br />$2,300. Table 1.1. The Little Colorado Subregion is projected to have <br />the largest relative increase, but since its average per capita income <br />was low in 1965 the, level in that subregion still will be below the <br />average for the Region in 2020. <br /> <br />Among the five major types of. industries in the Region, given in <br />table 1.1, the noncommodity producing industries showed the highest gross <br /> <br />iv <br />