Last month, for the first time in nearly four years, average job postings live on BioSpace did not decline year over year. In another encouraging sign, the number of biopharmas letting employees go fell.
It may be getting easier for biopharma professionals to find their next roles. Last month, average job postings live on BioSpace were up 5% from February 2025, the first year-over-year increase since September 2022, when hiring skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average jobs live also rose month over month in February, jumping 21%.
The month-over-month and year-over-year increases align with hiring sentiment shared in a late 2025 survey that informed the BioSpace 2026 U.S. Life Sciences Employment Outlook report. In that survey of 136 professionals with insight into talent acquisition and/or workforce planning activities, 41% of respondents predicted that in 2026, their open roles would rise.
The news last month wasn’t as promising for those considering employment outside biopharma. The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to a March 6 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. However, Wells Fargo economists noted that two key factors affected the decline. First, about 31,000 nurses and other healthcare professionals were on strike in February. Second, harsh winter storms hampered hiring in weather-sensitive industries.
Layoffs Up and Down in February
Those in the job market now include biopharma professionals forced into it due to layoffs. Last month, nine companies let go or projected they would let go of 3,713 employees, according to BioSpace tallies.* The year prior, in February 2025, more companies (19) cut or planned to cut fewer staffers (986).
Viatris’ multiyear restructuring announced last month drove the year-over-year spike in affected employees. The company plans to lay off up to 10% of its global workforce, which could impact up to 3,000 people given its staff count of 30,000 stated in a November SEC filing.
February’s year-over-year decrease in the number of biopharmas making or planning cuts means that for five straight months, fewer than 15 businesses have had layoffs each month. That trend is noteworthy given it reflects continued improvement over the first three quarters of 2025, when monthly company tallies usually topped 20.
Companies May Welcome Back Employees They Cut
For job seekers who are open to returning to biopharmas that once let them go, companies are willing to bring people back, according to two recruiting and talent acquisition professionals. Angie Allen, managing partner for pharma/biotech at Kaye/Bassman, an executive search firm, told BioSpace she’s seen that employers will consider hiring staff they laid off go a few years ago.
“I feel like in our slightly more challenging biopharma market right now, companies are like, ‘Oh, you’re a known quantity to us,’” she said. “‘You used to be here. You know our work style. You know our culture. You know the products. There’s value in looping you back in.’”
Theo Rowley, associate director and talent sourcing business partner at Novartis, told BioSpace he doesn’t frequently see companies bring back people they let go, noting it’s more the exception than the rule. That said, like Allen, he noted there can be a benefit to employers.
“Someone that’s been in the organization already, they understand science, systems, culture, so that can shorten that time to productivity,” he said.
Rowley said that most often, companies hire people they once let go to fill roles in specialist areas such as regulatory; chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC); and clinical development.
“That’s where ramp-up time is often long, so institutional knowledge really matters,” he said.
Allen shared a similar finding, noting that companies are most likely to bring back people at levels such as clinical operations, as they need employees in those roles to continue driving the business forward.
Top States for Biopharma Hiring
As to where the most hiring activity took place in February, based on job postings live on BioSpace, the top five states were Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois. Competition for open roles was highest in New Jersey, where there were 5.4 applications per job posting, and lowest in Indiana, where there were 1.5. The average for all five states was 3.7, down slightly from four for those states in January, indicating a slight decrease in how many people were vying for the same positions.
Companies hiring in the top five states in March include:
- Massachusetts: EyePoint, Moderna, ModeX Therapeutics, Novo Nordisk and Syner-G.
- California: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Regeneron and Takeda.
- New Jersey: AbbVie, Legend Biotech, Novo Nordisk, Regeneron and Tris Pharma.
- Indiana: Amgen, Curium, Eli Lilly and Lundbeck.
- Illinois: AbbVie, Amgen, Lundbeck and Novo Nordisk.
One of those companies, AbbVie, made a notable announcement last month. The pharma plans to spend $380 million to build two active pharmaceutical ingredient facilities in North Chicago. AbbVie expects to hire 300 people—including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and lab technicians—to support those locations, which should be fully operational in 2029.
Novartis also announced job creations last month. The company named Denton, Texas, as the site of its fifth radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the U.S. Novartis expects the facility, which should be fully operational in 2028, will generate 150 to 175 jobs, including process engineers, quality control analysts and maintenance technicians.
*Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts, BioSpace compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated primarily through information in company press releases, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports or via confirmation from company officials.
Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen.
