Labor market

Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.

Nineteen companies are receiving $21.4 million total in tax incentive awards to create 1,155 new life sciences jobs in Massachusetts. Moderna and Vertex received the largest awards and will add over 600 combined jobs.

Designed to create hundreds of jobs and add up to $1 billion to Massachusetts’ gross domestic product by the start of 2030, MassBio’s five-year strategic plan addresses challenges including skill gaps and talent shortages.

For the first eight months of 2024, California had the most job postings live on BioSpace—37.7% more than Massachusetts. Last year, Massachusetts ranked No.1 for the same time period.

Massachusetts’ biopharma jobs increased 2.6% in 2023, according to the MassBio Industry Snapshot. Whether the state’s jobs grow in 2024 remains to be seen based on this year’s layoffs and seemingly slowed hiring based on BioSpace data.

To avoid being laid off, a third of biopharma professionals would take a pay cut and nearly a quarter would take a demotion, according to BioSpace LinkedIn polls. We spoke to several professionals about their layoff experiences and what they would—and wouldn’t—have done to keep their jobs.

Employed and unemployed biotech and pharma professionals are thinking about job hunting in other fields amidst a challenging labor market.

Novartis’ second-quarter earnings, announced Thursday, show strong performance of its blockbuster drugs, prompting the company to raise its year-end guidance.

For the second quarter of 2024, there were 25% fewer jobs posted live on BioSpace compared to the same quarter of 2023. The year-over-year job response rate rose from 14.6% to 15.3%.

Despite the benefits of hiring foreign-born STEM employees, some companies avoid it largely due to unfamiliarity with the visa process, according to two recruitment experts.