By Jeff May, Star-Ledger Staff
Trenton, NJ, June 15, 2007 —The pharmaceutical and medical technology industries remain two of the most reliable bastions of high-paying jobs in New Jersey, a recent survey concludes.
Payroll in the two sectors rose slightly to 61,971 jobs last year, and the average base salary for workers grew almost 4 percent to $97,500, according to a report commissioned by the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, a trade group that represents the state’s leading drug makers and medical device companies.
The impact of the two industries on the state’s economy in 2006 was $26.5 billion, a figure that includes direct spending by companies and the ripple effect on businesses that cater to life sciences workers, according to the annual survey.
“In short, the overall economic condition of the state’s pharmaceutical and medical technology industry is very strong,” Bob Franks, president of the HealthCare Institute, wrote in a foreword to the report.
The industries’ contribution to the state economy was roughly $1billion dollars less than in 2005, in part because of a decline in capital spending, said Jeff Mraz, a partner in the life sciences practice of Deloitte Consulting, which conducted the survey. But that dip is expected to be temporary. Pharmaceutical companies plan $4.6billion in construction projects over the next two years, according to the institute.
The annual survey collects data from 25 of New Jersey’s largest drug and device companies. Be cause it excludes some midsized firms and most biotechs, it underestimates the industries’ true effect on the state, Mraz said.
Average compensation for drug and medical technology employees, which includes salary and benefits, grew 5.9 percent last year, to $122,500, according to the survey. Pharmaceutical and biotech workers have the second-highest average pay in New Jersey behind securities brokers, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which draws on different data than Deloitte.
The slight increase in jobs last year is heartening because payroll had been shrinking until 2005. Last year, New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology work force was the largest it has been since 2003.
“To me, it shows the sustainability and viability of the industry in the state,” Mraz said.
Research continues to be a smaller component of employment, and jobs in clinical development were also a smaller piece of the pie last year. But spending on research and development, some $7.5 billion, remained virtually the same as the previous year.
The number of new drug applications from companies in the state continued to decline. In 2004, there were 104 filings with federal regulators. That number fell to 43 last year.
Mraz attributed the drop to greater scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration, and more selectivity on the part of drug makers.
Jeff May can be reached at jmay@starledger.com or (973) 392-4282.
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