Massachusetts Biopharma Industry Hiring at Record Rate

Apr 29, 2016

New MassBioEd report shows industry posted 2,643 jobs in Q1 2016, the highest on record

April 29, 2016 (CAMBRIDGE, MA) – The Massachusetts biopharma industry is hiring at a record rate, with the highest number of online industry job listings as compiled by Burning Glass Technologies in the first quarter of 2016 than has been posted in any other quarter in the last three years, according to a new MassBioEd Foundation (MassBioEd) report released today.

MassBioEd produces a 3-Month Report on biopharmaceutical job trends each quarter of the year. The report compares job listings online for the most current three-month period with job listings for the same three-month period of the previous year to determine trending in job listings. Findings show increased job postings at every degree level requirement.

Key findings from the 3-Month Report for Q1 of 2016 include:

  • The Massachusetts biopharmaceutical industry is in the midst of a prolonged expansion cycle;
  • The 3-month average for Q1 2016 was the highest on record – with 2,643 industry job posts recorded online during that span – significantly higher than in previous 3-month periods;
  • January and March of 2016 were the two highest months for job postings since the beginning of 2014, when the data was first collected by MassBioEd; and
  • The 12-month growth rate in job postings for the Massachusetts biopharmaceutical industry was 37.8%.

The 3-Month Report is part of MassBioEd’s ongoing Digest of Biotech Jobs Trends in Massachusetts, which also includes Briefs (which, for 2015, focused on entry level job position trends) and an Annual Jobs Trends Forecast.

MassBioEd will present the Digest of Biotech Jobs Trends in Massachusetts and engage leaders from industry and academia in a critical discussion around workforce development at the Massachusetts Conference on Biotechnology Job Trends on May 24th. The event, being held at Sanofi Genzyme in Cambridge, is produced in partnership with MassBio, the life sciences trade association, and sponsored by Sanofi Genzyme and Biogen.

Speakers at the event include Ronald Walker, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development; Steve Goodwin, Dean, College of Natural Sciences, UMass Amherst; JD Chesloff, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Roundtable; Travis McCready, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; and Robert K. Coughlin, President & CEO, MassBio.

To learn more and register for the event, click here.

MassBioEd’s job trends initiative grew out of MassBio’s Impact 2020 Report which identified a challenge for companies as they grow and thrive in Massachusetts: data on and access to the right workforce. MassBioEd and MassBio share a commitment to collecting and sharing data, and convening industry and education leaders to promote collaboration and better alignment on workforce development needs.

To download MassBioEd’s Q1 2016 3-Month Report, click here.

For more MassBioEd job trends analysis, visit MassBioEd.org

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