State lauded for bioscience job growth

Between 2007 and 2012, when most of the country was plodding through an economic downturn, Wisconsin was one of only 12 states that added at least 1,000 jobs in the bioscience industry. According to the biennial Battelle/BIO report on the bioscience industry in the U.S., released during the international BIO conference in San Francisco, bioscience employment grew 8.2% in Wisconsin during that time and wages in the sector increased 7.2%.

In 2012, nearly 1,400 companies employed about 31,800 workers throughout the state, fueled in particular by three subsectors that saw double-digit job gains: drugs and pharmaceuticals; research, testing, and medical labs; and medical device manufacturing.

In 2012, according to the report, the average annual wage for Wisconsin bioscience jobs was $72,604, while the average wage in the private sector was $41,749. Both were lower than national averages.