While life sciences employment was down 0.3% nationally in 2024, it rose 1.9% in Washington, according to a new Life Science Washington report. The association’s CEO discusses the latest findings and how the state’s job market looks this year.
Washington’s life sciences employment has again had a huge 10-year jump, up 50% from 2014 to 2024, according to a new economic impact report from Life Science Washington. The group noted the same increase from 2013 to 2023 in a report last year.
The latest jump took Life Science Washington CEO Marc Cummings a bit by surprise. He told BioSpace he thought there’d be a bigger slowdown in the 2024 numbers. However, the state’s life sciences employment rose from 47,868 in 2023 to 48,765 in 2024, a 1.9% increase, according to report data. That put Washington ahead of life sciences job growth nationally, as U.S. jobs were down 0.3% in 2024. Cummings chalked up the increase in Washington to the durability of its midmarket sector, where midcap companies continue growing.
As to how other states fared in 2024, there were mixed results in two key locations for the industry: California and Massachusetts. In California, home to major hubs like the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego, life sciences employment grew 2.6%, according to California Life Sciences data. In Massachusetts, growth flattened out, increasing by just 0.03%, according to a Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation report.
Factors behind Washington’s 50% growth from 2014 to 2024, according to Cummings, include the market becoming more than just a top research hub and large companies no longer always buying up smaller ones and aggregating those businesses elsewhere. For example, after acquiring antibody-drug conjugate pioneer Seagen in Bothell, Washington, for $43 billion in 2023, New York–based Pfizer kept the biotech’s operations in Bothell. Because of shifts like this, Cummings said, Washington has become a place where people want to build and expand companies.
Whether the state could see 50% employment growth from 2024 to 2034 remains to be seen, but there is some potential, according to Cummings. He said while he can’t predict exact numbers for that decade, the growth trend is in place.
As to where job seekers might find employment opportunities in Washington in 2026, the report noted that there are 1,100 life sciences organizations located in 147 cities across the state. Most of those business (404) fall into the biotechnology, research and testing area. The next-highest concentrations are in medical devices and equipment (254) and digital health and health IT (240).
Not all companies are rushing to hire, however. Cummings said he’s seeing life sciences employers conserve cash and maintain teams while they wait to see what happens with financing. He explained that while stock indices for biotech have turned up and late-stage deals are getting done, companies are waiting for funding to flow into earlier-stage businesses.
All of that said, life sciences companies in Washington are extending job offers, according to Cummings. For example, he noted that contract manufacturing organization Jubilant HollisterStier, which is based in Spokane, has been hiring hundreds of people a year, while biotech SystImmune, headquartered in Redmond, is having a hiring upswing. Both companies have open positions listed on their websites.
One factor affecting the life sciences job market this year is continuing industry layoffs. However, Cummings noted that while there have been workforce cuts in Washington, there haven’t been as many as in other markets such as Boston or San Diego.
Layoffs disclosed this year in Washington include SonomaBio letting go of an unspecified number of people in Seattle and Astellas Pharma designating 50 employees for cuts as part of its upcoming closure of the Seattle office of Universal Cells, its wholly owned subsidiary. However, some Universal Cells staffers could take internal transfer opportunities or roles with another Astellas corporate affiliate prior to their separation dates and would then not be let go as part of the workforce reduction. Also noteworthy: Seattle-based Faraday Pharmaceuticals announced it is winding down operations.
For those looking to work in Washington’s life sciences industry, Cummings said the state has a great standard of living, thanks in part to its outdoor lifestyle and quality arts and food scene.
“I think people love that,” he said. “And just the culture here is that you sort of work hard, play hard and put your time in, but you have a great time on the weekends as well.”
