LoginA report recently published by the Biotechnology Industry Organization showed that job growth has been strong in the bioscience sector for several years and continues to show progress. According to the report, employment in the industry grew 7.4 percent between 2001 and 2012, while the private sector as a whole expanded only 1.0 percent. Aside from software services, which increased 15.8 percent, biotechnology saw the most growth of any technology sector over the same period.
BIO's study also showed how much of an impact bioscience jobs have on the overall economy. Each new employment opportunity in the sector generates an estimated 3.9 additional jobs to indirectly support it.
Many of these indirectly supported jobs are in the agriculture, energy and manufacturing sectors, The Hill reported. Advances in biotechnology have led to a boom in consumer products and clean energy sources created with knowledge gained in the industry.
Even without accounting for the boost these jobs provide, biotechnology employment is a leader in high-skill, high-wage positions. Workers in the biological sciences earn about 80 percent more than the average private sector employee, and pay in the fields is continually rising.