The forecast makes pharma one of the fastest-growing manufacturing industries in the U.S.
Drug production is expected to be one of the main drivers of employment growth in U.S. manufacturing through 2034, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting the sector will create 19,000 jobs across 10 years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted 5.4% employment growth in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing from 2024 to 2034. Having employed 350,500 people in 2024, the sector is projected to employ 369,500 by 2034. The figures mean pharma is forecast to be the eighth fastest-growing area of U.S. manufacturing, in terms of both percentage and the number of jobs created.
The BLS projects that data scientist, industrial machinery mechanic and information security analyst will be the fastest-growing pharma manufacturing roles in percentage terms, with employment forecast to increase 31.3%, 26.1% and 25%, respectively, through 2034.
Forecast growth in the employment of data scientists and information security analysts comes off a low base, with the roles accounting for 0.3% and 0.1% of jobs in the sector in 2024, respectively. Industrial machinery mechanics are more common, accounting for 1.6% of employment in 2024.
Chemist is the fastest-growing role in terms of headcount. The BLS forecasts that the industry will employ 1,900 more chemists by 2034, reflecting 15.6% growth. Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders is forecast to be the next fastest-growing area by headcount, with the BLS projecting that it will add 1,700 jobs from 2024 to 2034, followed by industrial engineers with 1,600 positions.
Across all industries, the BLS forecasts that U.S. manufacturers will create almost 1 million production openings a year through 2034. The need to replace workers who leave a job permanently—for example, to retire or move to a different occupation—will account for most of the openings, the BLS said.
Pharma manufacturing workers command higher wages than their peers in most other industries. Of the fastest-growing industries, only semiconductor, motor vehicle and aerospace manufacturing paid a higher median wage than the $68,290 average that pharma offered in 2024.
The BLS published its 2034 projections after President Donald Trump was elected for a second term and began trying to reshore drug production, leading drugmakers to commit hundreds of billions of dollars to U.S. plants. However, the analysis contains little evidence of accelerated job growth. Previously, the BLS forecast 4.9% employment growth for the sector in its 2023 to 2033 report, and 5.4% growth in its 2022 to 2032 report.
