Although the job market did not pick up in April, layoffs were down year over year and month over month, according to BioSpace tallies. Meanwhile, Amgen, Novartis, Regeneron and Roche announced U.S. manufacturing investments that are sparking job creation.
The start of the second quarter failed to ignite biopharma hiring activity, according to BioSpace data. Job postings live on the website were fairly flat in April, increasing just 1% from March. They were down 8% year over year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent job openings data, released April 29, also failed to show movement in an upward direction. BLS reported that the number of open positions in March was down 4% month over month and 11% year over year.
Given the lack of movement in the biopharma job market, BioSpace Recruitment Manager Greg Clouse said that until he sees something change, he’s going to assume the market will stay the same. Still, he noted that he’s hopeful hiring activity will pick up this month.
“I always think things are going to get better,” Clouse said. “They’ve got to at some point. We’ve all been waiting a long time. My hope is, frankly, when it does get better, the dam breaks, to a certain extent—[that] it’s not going to just get a little better and a little better, it’s going to explode.”
Layoffs Decline in April, But Market Still Challenging
There may be fewer people job hunting now than a year ago, as the number of biopharma professionals laid off in April dropped 22% year over year, according to BioSpace tallies. There was a month-over-month decrease as well. The number of employees let go fell 18% from March to April. All figures exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms.
That’s not to say unemployment hasn’t been challenging for biotech and pharma professionals. For example, BLS reported April 29 that one of the biggest biopharma hot spots had a higher unemployment rate in March than the national rate of 4.2%. In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area, it was 4.5%. Notably, that number was a full percentage point higher than the previous year.
In addition, the number of biopharma professionals let go in April as per BioSpace tallies—1,357—was the second-highest monthly total of 2025. The largest cut came at Spark Therapeutics. As part of a reorganization first disclosed in January, the Philadelphia-based company laid off 298 employees in Philadelphia.
April’s decreased layoffs are a good sign for those looking for their next position, according to Clouse, although there is a caveat.
“I don’t know that that increases the job counts, but it obviously decreases competition for candidates,” he said. “So, I think that’s a positive sign for them, sure. But, until companies start hiring again, it’s going to be a tough market for candidates.”
Competition for open roles remains high, based on BioSpace data. Applications outpaced jobs live on the website for the past three months.
When it comes to competition, Close pointed out that for the past few years, companies have been pickier about who they hire, preferring people with the exact skill set they need.
“If they’re looking for XYZ, they don’t have to take somebody they think can learn it really quick,” he said. “They can just hire somebody with XYZ, because there’s probably competition.”
Companies Still Hiring, With Manufacturing Key Area of Need
Although the job market has not picked up just yet, companies are still expanding and hiring, Clouse noted. For example, he said, more stealth companies have been advertising open positions on the BioSpace website, such as preclinical discovery–type jobs. Clouse sees that as a promising sign of what’s to come.
Manufacturing is a key area where jobs have recently picked up. So far this year, seven companies have announced significant investments in U.S. manufacturing following President Donald Trump warning Big Pharma leaders he’d impose tariffs if they didn’t reshore that function. Four companies made announcements in April: Amgen, Novartis, Regeneron and Roche. Although Regeneron did not disclose how many manufacturing jobs its investment will create, Amgen said it will add 350 positions, and Novartis and Roche expect to create around 1,000 roles each.
Eli Lilly was the first to announce its investment, in February. The company expects to create over 3,000 jobs for highly skilled workers across four new manufacturing sites. A spokesperson told BioSpace the pharma will post positions as the sites progress in the coming months.
Lilly is hiring for roles outside of manufacturing as well. The pharma was No. 1 on the list of the top 12 biopharma companies hiring at the start of May based on recent job posting volume. AbbVie, Amgen, Novo Nordisk and Takeda rounded out the top five.
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