Job Market Report 2024 Q3: Biopharma Professionals Face Stiff Competition for Fewer Jobs.

When biopharma professionals are looking for their next opportunity after moving on dismissalBioSpace’s annual data shows that there are fewer job postings live on the web and more competition for them. For the third quarter of 2024, there were 21,548 jobs on site, from 24,503 in the same quarter of 2023, a decrease of 12%. During that same period, the job response rate—the percentage of people who apply for positions after viewing them—rose 51%, jumping from 9.8% to 14.8 %.

TOTAL JOBS BY LIFE, Q3 2022-Q3 2024

It is also important to note that the response rate has increased from the beginning to the end of the third quarter. It was 14.5% in July and 18.4% in September, an increase of 26.9%. The jump is not surprising given the number of layoffs BioSpace reported in the third quarter.

In terms of which states appeared to have the most open positions in July, August and September, based on BioSpace data, California had the most jobs. The top five countries were:

California: 3,769
Massachusetts: 3,110
New Jersey: 2,513
Illinois: 2,452
New York: 1,717

Getting fired

While biopharma experts had hoped to see layoffs slow in the second half of the year, they continued in the third quarter. At the time, biotech and pharma companies were linked to 54 rounds of layoffs — including 26 announced in August — affecting at least 3,700 unionized workers, according to BioSpace data.

Staff reductions include:

FibroGen to let go 75% of its employees are based in the US, an estimated 356 people
Grail to put about 350 employees
BioMarin to cut 225 people worldwide

In addition, in late September, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer disclosed to reduce staff affecting 288 unionized employees at their headquarters in New Jersey.

Fall is Prime Time to Look

As both unemployed and employed biopharma professionals look for new positions, it’s important to note that fall is a good time to apply for jobs in biotech, according to Carina Clingman, founder and CEO of Recruitomics Consulting, which deals with talent acquisition and startup strategy. biotechs. Clingman shared his thoughts in a recent Career Coaching column that described fall as a critical time for job hunting.

In that line, he noted an increase in hiring activity after Labor Day, as hiring managers look to fill positions before the end of the fiscal cycle. Annual fundraisers usually take place around Thanksgiving, Clingman added.

Looking Ahead: Creating New Jobs

Going forward, the biopharma industry is working to increase jobs. For example, MassBio last week released a five-year strategic plan that aims to create hundreds more biopharma and life science positions in Massachusetts by 2030. As part of that effort, the joint venture will support and grow the first biotech community, which it believes can help accelerate startup growth and create new jobs.

J&J and Eli Lilly also had employee-related announcements last week.

J&J plans to build a $2 billion biologics manufacturing facility Wilson, North Carolina, that, once fully operational, should create 420 new jobs for full-time and highly skilled workers. Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2024. J&J did not specify when the plant would begin operating.
Lilly has committed $4.5 billion to construction new agency Lebanon, Indiana, will maintain research and production operations. The site is expected to open in late 2027 and employ 400 new engineers, scientists, lab technicians and operations staff once it is fully operational.

Meanwhile, some biopharma experts may hope that the Federal Reserve cutting prices by half a percent last month will boost companies, which will make them expand their activities. However, gold’s rush to raise funds, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings is unlikely to happen, according to Jared Holz, an analyst at Mizuho Securities.

“I don’t think there are any meaningful changes in the way executives run these companies,” Holz recently told BioSpace.