2023 Q3 Job Market Report: Tension While Recruitment Slows

It’s an interesting time in the life sciences job market. Even though recruitment activity has slowed, organizations are struggling to balance candidate salary expectations with what they can actually offer. 57% report that “candidate salary expectations are too high” while 55% are reporting that hiring budget has been a challenge.

In addition to this tension, 40% of talent acquisition teams cited the concern that candidates were only interested in remote roles - at a time when many organizations are looking to bring employees back into the office more often.

While the demand for flexibility and salaries that keep pace with inflation and cost of living may not come as a surprise, it remains to be seen how this stand-off will play out into the next quarter and 2024 as the effects from layoffs and slowed hiring are felt more keenly.

• More companies reported layoffs in the third quarter of 2023 than in any other quarter so far.
• Additionally, fewer companies reported that they were actively hiring this quarter than any other this year.

• Job posting dropped 29% from Q2 from Q3. The year on year change was even more dramatic, with a 38% decrease in jobs posted compared to the same quarter last year.
• In biotech, job postings dropped 17% compared to last quarter and a whopping 46% compared to the same time last year. Job applications also declined 14% from Q2 and by 2% compared to last year.
• In pharma, job postings dropped 2% compared to last quarter and 32% compared to the same time last year. Job applications increased 4% from Q2 and more than tripled compared to last year.
• Of biopharma organizations surveyed, 62% are actively recruiting, down from 75% in Q2 and significantly down from the 88% who said the same at the end of 2022.
• 26% of employers reported that they expect the number of open roles to increase next quarter. 25% said they would decrease, and the remaining 49% said they would stay the same.