Job Trends

Labor Market Reports
BioSpace’s Q3 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Report reveals a turbulent quarter for biopharma hiring, with record declines in job postings, rising layoffs, and cautious employer sentiment shaping the industry’s employment landscape.
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
Establishing trust through thought leadership is no longer optional in today’s cautious biopharma market. Learn how strategic insights and targeted outreach can turn awareness into high-converting leads.
Now Hiring
Looking for a job in oncology? Check out the BioSpace list of nine companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Looking for a biopharma job in Boston? Check out the BioSpace list of six companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Career Advice
Employees rarely leave companies for one reason alone. In this column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack shares a framework that helps leaders identify when their team members are thinking about heading for the exit—and how to address it.
THE LATEST
Seven in 10 U.S. hiring managers say their company usually considers employing overqualified applicants, according to a survey from Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll. However, 75% of employers believe such hires struggle to stay motivated in lower-level roles.
Due largely to CSL, Merck and Novo Nordisk’s reorganizations that could total about 19,350 people, Q3 cuts rose significantly year over year and quarter over quarter, based on BioSpace tallies.
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s Vice President of Marketing ⁠Chantal Dresner⁠ and Careers Editor ⁠Angela Gabriel⁠ take a look at Q3 job market performance, layoffs and wider employment trends and policies impacting the biopharma workforce.
With layoffs happening at biopharma companies of all sizes, some may wonder which jobs are safest. Talent acquisition experts spoke to BioSpace about the areas and roles they recommend to biotech and pharma professionals hoping to avoid staff cuts.
Looking for a biopharma job in Pennsylvania? Check out the BioSpace list of six companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
The Trump administration’s recently announced fee for new H-1B visa petitions is “completely unreasonable,” an immigration attorney told BioSpace. Attorneys and talent acquisition experts discuss how the fee could impact biopharma and confusion around the proclamation.
Talent acquisition leaders at leading pharma and biotech organizations are leveraging technologies, including automation, to develop internal talent marketplaces and systems that support upskilling and reskilling their workforce. BioSpace spoke to leaders at Pfizer and Bayer about their evolving approach to resourcing.
Building and scaling biopharma workforces can go beyond recruiting permanent employees to include fractional workers and consultants. A Slone Partners executive discusses how these blended workforces operate, highlighting the strategic benefits.
This year, Novo Nordisk and Merck announced significant layoffs, with Novo planning to axe about 9,000 employees and Merck projecting it could let go of roughly 6,000. Meanwhile, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis and Pfizer have also made noteworthy cuts.
The biopharma job market remains challenging, based on BioSpace data. In August, job postings live on the website dropped 32% year over year. In addition, during the first eight months of 2025, over 26,000 people were laid off or projected to be laid off.