Biopharma professionals will probably find decreasing employment opportunities this month and next even as layoffs continue, based on BioSpace data. However, hundreds of open roles are expected this year in Massachusetts, and a job market turnaround could start late next year.
If the pattern BioSpace data showed from late 2023 and 2024 holds true, biopharma employment opportunities will dip this month and next, leaving job seekers with fewer chances to get hired as 2025 wraps up.
During the past two years, average job postings live on the BioSpace website dropped in November and December. In addition, when comparing the dip from October to December, the sharpest decrease, 14.7%, happened in 2024. In 2023, the drop was 7.1%. Also noteworthy: Average jobs live were lower throughout the fourth quarter of last year than in the year prior, and the number for October 2025—2,883—is significantly lower than the number for the previous two Octobers.
Regarding whether job opportunities will increase in January, it’s possible but not certain, based on BioSpace data. While average job postings live went up from December 2023 to January 2024 (+2.6%), they dropped slightly from December 2024 to January 2025 (-0.7%).
It’s been difficult to get a clear picture of the job market given the U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics (BLS) has delayed key reports because of the government shutdown. For example, the jobs report covering what happened in September, originally expected Oct. 3, is now scheduled for release today.
Other sources have shared data and analysis during the shutdown. Earlier this month, ADP reported that private-sector employment increased by 42,000 jobs in October, while Wells Fargo economists noted Nov. 7 that “firms’ appetite to hire has neither worsened nor improved over the past two months.”
Layoffs Continue Pushing More Into Job Market
Among people looking for biopharma jobs, the urgency is likely highest for those laid off this year. Through October, over 180 companies have let go or projected they’ll let go of more than 41,000 total employees, based on BioSpace tallies.* Layoffs have been up year over year in every month except January, February, April and June. In addition, while the number of people let go or projected to be let go last month (1,677) was the fourth-lowest total of the year, it topped October 2024 (980).
During the third quarter, significant cuts made or projected include:
- Novo Nordisk in September announcing it intends to let go of about 9,000 employees globally, including around 5,000 in Denmark
- Bayer cutting roughly 1,000 people during Q3, a number counted in the September layoff tally given the company does not identify in which months reductions happen
- Merck in August projecting it will let go of about 6,000 employees globally as part of a multiyear process
So far in November, 13 companies have laid off or expect to lay off 665 employees total, based on BioSpace tallies. However, some of those businesses did not disclose exactly how many people they’re letting go. Those cuts include Bristol Myers Squibb laying off 110 employees in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Merck axing 204 staffers in Rahway, New Jersey.
For those considering moving into other industries—as was the case with 56% of employed and 81% of unemployed respondents to a May BioSpace survey—layoffs are also hitting people outside of biopharma. In early November, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that this year through October, U.S.-based employers had announced about 1.1 million job cuts, up 65% from the first ten months of last year. The firm also shared that through last month, U.S. companies had announced 488,077 planned hires, down 35% from the 750,333 announced at this time in 2024.
Job Market Turnaround, Massachusetts Jobs Expected Soon
Not all biopharma job market news from the past few months was negative. In a Nov. 13 BioSpace article, two industry experts predicted the market should start turning around late next year. They pointed toward recent encouraging signs such as increased merger and acquisition volume.
One of those experts, Mayo Venture Partner and Chair Audrey Greenberg, told BioSpace via email that healthspan biotech—the convergence of regenerative medicine, metabolic science and prevention—is quietly leading the next cycle. In 2025, she said, longevity-focused startups have attracted fresh capital while broader biotech venture slowed. Regarding related job opportunities, Greenberg said those companies will need translational scientists, clinical leads and bioengineers fluent in biomarkers of aging and resilience.
“In many ways, the longevity sector will recover a year ahead of traditional therapeutics because it aligns with consumer demand, payer interest, and technology adoption,” she said.
For those seeking work in Massachusetts, the Healey-Driscoll Administration and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) in October announced that tax incentive awards totaling $17.3 million should create 806 life sciences jobs this year in the state. While expected positions don’t always materialize—21 companies missed hiring targets last year—opportunities should still be available.
Three companies that agreed to create jobs in Massachusetts were named to the BioSpace 2026 Best Places to Work list: AbbVie (60 positions in Worcester), Eyepoint (15 jobs in Northbridge) and Genezen (50 roles in Lexington).
*To tally layoffs, 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 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.
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