As the UK moves past the pandemic, the life sciences industry is still adjusting to the challenges associated with the post-Brexit regime. This, combined with the slowdown in trials during the pandemic, has resulted in a slowdown in recruitment within the sector, particularly affecting regulatory affairs professionals.
With the slump in the pharmaceutical sector set to continue, the long-awaited reforms to the MHRA have yet to materialise. As a result, drug approval in the UK lags behind the EU, further depressing the sector. 2023 seems to be the low point in that there has been an uptick in Q1 so far, and if this continues, it will increase by 9.1% this year compared to last. The recovery has been in London specifically, with volumes up 26.1% on last year.
According to the latest Life Sciences Labour Market Trends report by CPL and market data analysts Vacancysoft, key recruitment trends show that in 2022, there were over 4,100 new scientific vacancies published in the ‘Golden Triangle’ (Cambridge, London and Oxford). This translates to a slight decrease from 2021, when there were over 4,500 jobs, resulting in a year-on-year fall of 9.1%.
The beginning months of 2024 have shown a decrease in recruitment compared to the post-pandemic boom seen in 2021-2023. Despite a dip in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Australian legal market experienced robust growth over the following years.
At a time when the sector has been depressed by the cyclical downturn due to quantitative tightening, this has led to a drop of 34.8% in London and 19.4% regionally. Within law firms, real estate remains the top skill in demand, although its market share has slipped from 22% in 2022 to 18% in 2023. This is partly due to a hefty 37% fall in vacancies in this area in 2023 as the commercial property sector has slowed down.
