November 2000
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY NEWS SERVICE
EOS LINKS
| Although the U.S. manufacturing sector has slowed in recent
years, some manufacturing industries have bucked the downward
trend and continued to grow at a healthy pace. While computers
and telecommunications equipment have rightly captured much of
the attention, drugs and pharmaceuticals have also been one of
the ten fastest growing manufacturing industries in the 1990s.
In fact, the industry’s worldwide sales of prescription and
over-the-counter medications now total more than $300 billion
annually.
Global factors responsible for expected continued growth of this industry include demographics and higher life expectancies, leading to significant increases in the size of the world’s over-65 population. Other favorable conditions include rising standards of living in developing countries, a steady stream of new products — including those that enhance quality of life, a more favorable regulatory environment, and managed care programs that favor the use of medications. Pharmaceutical companies are reported to be developing 600 new medicines to treat major causes of disability among seniors. Breakthroughs in biomedical science have spawned new processes that will likely lead to new pharmaceutical compounds at even faster rates. Such compounds are expected to both cure diseases and slow deterioration of advanced years. Examples of new products already on the market are more effective cancer drugs, cholesterol reducers, new treatments for arthritis, and impotence treatments. Booming sales for such drugs have been due in part to direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, once considered improper but now a major force in consumer awareness and demand for new drugs. U.S. employment in this industry for 1998 — the latest year for which data are available — is estimated to be 279,000. This reflects growth of 42,000 workers since 1990, a 15 percent increase. The industry is expected to add another 30,000 workers (close to an 11 percent gain) between 1998 and 2008. About half the drug — pharmaceutical work force is composed of various types of production workers. However, significant numbers of professional workers also are employed, including chemists (11,770), biological scientists (9,630), chemical engineers (3,090), and accountants (2,920). Management staffs include general managers and top executives (4,480), engineering, mathematical, and natural science managers (4,300), industrial production managers (3,900), and public relations managers (2,690). Other occupations accounting for meaningful shares of industry employment include chemical and biological technicians (13,120), secretaries and general office clerks (10,200), and salespersons (9,340). The industry also includes a large number of chemical equipment controllers and operators (16,890). If any of these occupations sound appealing, seek more information from the Employment Opportunity CD-ROM, "Guide for Occupational Exploration," and then consider employment in this growth industry. (For more information on this and other industries, review information in U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook, 2000, The McGraw-Hill Companies and the U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Adm.)
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