CBRE’s Annual Analysis of U.S. Life Sciences Talent Finds Job Growth Tenuous Amid Constrained Funding, Fewer Graduates

U.S. life sciences employment has wavered between small gains and declines since 2022 as the sector grappled with capital constraints and layoffs, leaving its growth prospects fragile this year, according to a new report from CBRE.

CBRE analyzed 100 U.S. life sciences markets in its 2025 Life Sciences Talent Trends report, updating its talent rankings of the top 25 markets in each of three subsectors: research and development, manufacturing and medtech.

The top ranking changed in two sectors this year with Boston-Cambridge surpassing New York-New Jersey for the top spot in life sciences manufacturing talent and Minneapolis-St. Paul jumping Los Angeles-Orange County for the top ranking in medtech. In R&D talent, Boston-Cambridge retained the top spot.

Nationally, life sciences employment reached a record 2.1 million people in March but then posted a 0.4% decline (nearly 9,000 jobs) in April. Multiple factors have hindered the sector in the past three years, including falloffs in venture capital funding and initial public offerings, subsequent layoffs and, this year, cuts in federal research spending. The unemployment rate for life sciences professions nearly doubled in the past year to 3.1% in comparison to the overall U.S. rate of 3.9%.

“The underlying science of the life sciences sector - drug development - is strong,” said Matt Gardner, CBRE Americas Life Sciences Leader. “We’re dealing with a tough environment for funding, and the outlook for the sector’s job growth currently is fragile. But the foundation is in place for further growth once the sector’s challenges are surpassed.”

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. life sciences graduates has moderated. Year-over-year growth in U.S. biological and biomedical sciences degrees slowed from nearly 5% in the 2020-21 school year to 0.5% in 2022-23, the latest data available.

The sector has more than enough space to accommodate its workforce. Robust building in recent years contributed to the average vacancy rate climbing to 21.4% in this year’s first quarter from a recent low of 5% in Q2 2022. A decline in construction activity will provide some relief; In-progress construction fell to 8 million sq. ft. in the first quarter from more than 35 million two years prior.

Market Rankings

CBRE’s analysis of the 100 largest U.S. life sciences markets assessed each for its number and density of jobs in life sciences R&D, manufacturing and medtech; its number of graduates in biological and biomedical sciences; and its labor costs, among other variables. Each market garnered a weighted score for each subsector. Eighteen markets landed in the top 25 of all three subsectors, led by Boston-Cambridge, New York-New Jersey, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los-Angeles-Orange County and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Top US Markets Across Three Main Life Sciences Subsectors

Research & Development

Boston-Cambridge’s expanded lead over second-place San Francisco Bay Area is due mostly to strong growth in the market’s ranks of bioengineers, biomedical engineers, medical scientists and epidemiologists. The top six markets maintained their rankings for the second consecutive year.

Core life sciences R&D jobs include biochemists, biophysicists, bioengineers, biomedical engineers, biological scientists and biological technicians. The subsector’s biggest riser this year is Houston, which climbed three spots to No. 10.

Manufacturing

Boston-Cambridge leapfrogged New York-New Jersey for the top ranking in life sciences manufacturing this year after Boston posted a greater gain in biological and chemical technicians. Gains in these professions give Boston an edge in more sophisticated biomanufacturing talent, whereas New York-New Jersey has an advantage in talent for high-volume pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The biggest gainers in this year’s manufacturing rankings each climbed three spots: Washington, DC-Baltimore (now No. 6), Denver-Boulder (No. 9) and Seattle (No. 11).

Medtech

Minneapolis-St. Paul surpassed Los Angeles-Orange County for the top spot in medtech due to greater growth of the medtech talent pool in the former than the latter. In addition, Minneapolis-St. Paul’s ranking benefited from its increasing share of medtech jobs as a percentage of its overall workforce.

The medtech subsector encompasses designing and producing medical devices. CBRE determined its medtech rankings by assessing markets for certain occupations within engineering, biological, medical and tech disciplines. This year’s biggest gainer is Washington, DC-Baltimore, which climbed two spots to No. 9.