Labor market

In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s Vice President of Marketing ⁠Chantal Dresner⁠ and Careers Editor ⁠Angela Gabriel⁠ take a look at Q1 job market performance and what it signals for the coming months.

BioSpace’s Biopharma Job Market Report reveals early signs of recovery for 2026. A rise in job postings, a surge in contract roles and strong M&A and IPO activity point to future hiring growth and shifts in hiring strategy.

Among biopharma professionals surveyed by BioSpace, respect remains higher for managers than for CEOs, and unhappiness with company leadership had nearly 1 in 7 people looking to walk away from their employer.

Among those who connected salary increases to swapping out employers, 75% saw pay rise by at least 6%, and the most often cited increase was 10%, according to the just-released BioSpace salary report.

BioSpace‘s 2026 U.S. Life Sciences Salary Report delivers a comprehensive look at how salaries, bonuses and benefits evolved over the past year amid ongoing economic pressure and workforce recalibration. It uncovers not just what people are earning, but how they’re thinking about compensation, career moves and total rewards in 2026.

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.

Over half of biopharma professionals would work again at the companies that let them go, according to a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Several professionals, as well as recruiting and talent acquisition experts, discuss reasons for—and a key risk of—going back.

Employees are reassessing, leaders are celebrating data that should make them nervous and job seekers are absorbing a narrative that doesn’t match their reality. Executive coach Angela Justice discusses how each of these groups are affected when the job market thaws.

Contract work opportunities have grown year over year, and recent reports show more people are in this type of role, according to BioSpace data. Three biopharma professionals share why they’ve become contractors and discuss the pros and cons.

BioSpace data show job postings live increased quarter over quarter, while layoffs fell year over year.