Biotech Wasnt Immune to Job Loss in Great Recession, BIO Report Says
Summary
Biotech, which was defined broadly to include work on drugs, medical devices, research/testing, and agricultural chemicals/feedstocks, gained 96,000 total jobs in the U.S. over the decade from 2001 to 2010, according to the analysis Battelle performed for the Biotechnology Industry Organization.While gains over a decade might look good at first glance, biotech wasn’t immune to the Great Recession, as the industry employed 23,000 fewer people in 2010 than it did in 2007, Battelle said.The relatively small job losses of 0.3 percent in 2010 reflect overall “sluggish labor market conditions and reluctance to hire during the first year of the nascent recovery,” Battelle said.California’s total biotech employment grew by 13 percent over the 2001-2010 period, and the average annual wage was $96,962 in 2010 dollars, compared with $52,536 in the overall private sector.Michigan, which once had a sizable pharmaceutical industry, saw its total biotech employment fall 4.7 percent over the decade, as Battelle counted 39,282 jobs there in 2010.