CBRE Report Names Tampa as a Top 25 U.S. Market for Medtech Talent

Tampa is among the top 25 markets for medtech employment according to CBRE’s annual U.S. Life Sciences Talent Trends report. The report covers the nation’s top 100 markets and trends across the research & development (R&D), manufacturing, and medical technology fields.

“We anticipate that Florida’s life sciences industry will continue to grow and thrive as more life science graduates choose to stay in the region, creating a larger workforce, which will entice more companies to increase their presence in Tampa,” said CBRE Senior Managing Director and North Florida Market Leader Mike DiBlasi.

Talent Pool

Data from 2023 indicates Tampa has a talent pool of 9,830 professionals across the below occupations:

• Industrial engineers (2,250)
• Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers (2,040)
• Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians (1,170)
• Architectural and engineering managers (1,080)
• Computer numerically controlled tool operators (980)
• Industrial engineering technologists and technicians (340)
• Medical appliance technicians (300)
• Bioengineers and biomedical engineers (120)

Talent Pipeline

The report also found that Tampa ranks among the top 10 fastest-growing markets for life sciences degrees between 2017 and 2022, with a 25% growth rate, surpassing the national average of 15.2%. During the 2021-2022 school year, 1,739 bachelor’s degrees, 320 master’s degrees, and 40 doctorate degrees in biological and biomedical sciences were completed at the University of South Florida, University of Tampa, Eckerd College, Saint Leo University, and St. Petersburg College. Tampa’s rapid growth in new graduates with scientific and technical experience shows support for long-term industry expansion.

Regional Ecosystem

With the rise of hybrid work patterns, life sciences ecosystems are expanding beyond traditional geographic metro areas. CBRE defines the North-Central Florida Ecosystem as Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, and North Port-Sarasota. Regional ecosystems are frequently anchored by a research university, such as the University of Florida in Gainesville. Gainesville received $283 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2023; is ranked in the top 25 markets for biological and biomedical sciences graduates; and 13th for biological and biomedical sciences specialty degrees.

Across the U.S.

Nationally, life sciences job growth has slowed since interest rates began rising in 2022. Employment growth in the biotechnology R&D and pharmaceutical/medical manufacturing industries amounted to 0.2% since June 2022. This comes after a 15.8% jump in the preceding 21 months.

Despite this, the demand for talent is strong as unemployment in the sector is below 2%, compared to roughly 4% for all professions.

CBRE assessed the top 100 largest life sciences labor markets in the U.S. across various criteria for each of the three specialties. Specifically for the R&D subsector, this evaluation encompassed factors such as the quantity and density of life science researchers, the number of recent graduates, particularly those with doctorate degrees in the field, the density of all doctorate degree holders and the concentration of jobs within the wider professional scientific and technical services sectors.

“The overall theme for the U.S. life sciences industry last year and this year is resiliency,” said Matt Gardner, CBRE Advisory Services Life Sciences Leader. “We expect life sciences employment to hold steady over the next year and to perhaps decline in a few markets. But this talent is valuable – life sciences specialists who leave one job often find another quickly.”

To read the full report, click here.