The Biosciences in the United States

The national and state-level bioscience sectors were examined in detail. The report found that the U.S. is home to 1.2 million bioscience jobs spanning more than 40,000 business establishments. Bioscience jobs grew at a modest pace from 2001 to 2004, increasing by 1 percent; this increase, however, is noteworthy given the sluggish nature of the overall national labor market and steep job cuts in manufacturing during this period. For comparison, total U.S. employment was down slightly over the period (-0.7 percent).  National industry multipliers reveal an overall bioscience employment impact of 7.0 million jobs.

The national BIO report showed the two largest bioscience subsectors—research, testing, and medical labs and medical devices—each employ more than 400,000 and account for one-third of total bioscience employment. Drugs and pharmaceuticals makes up 25 percent of total national bioscience employment; and the remaining 8 percent of industry jobs are in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector. Since 2001, two of the major bioscience subsectors added jobs. The research, testing, and medical laboratories sector grew by 8 percent and employment in drugs and pharmaceuticals increased by almost 3 percent.

Agricultural Feedstock and Chemicals

The agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector applies life sciences knowledge and biotechnologies to the processing of agricultural goods and the production of organic and agricultural chemicals. The principal components of the subsector include 1) organic and agricultural chemicals and 2) agricultural feedstock and processing.

At the national level, the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector employs 104,893 across 2,111 business establishments. These employment metrics register fewest among the major bioscience subsectors. Employment in agricultural feedstock and chemicals accounts for 8 percent of all U.S. bioscience jobs. The average worker in this subsector earned $63,383 in 2004, just below the average wage for all bioscience workers, $65,775, but significantly greater than that for the average private sector worker, $39,003.

Geographically, jobs in the subsector are concentrated in the Midwest and South; but as the U.S. map above shows, a geographically-varied and large number of metropolitan areas have significant employment concentrations (location quotients of 1.50 or greater). Most regions have “modest” subsector employment—more than 500 but fewer than 10,000 jobs. The exception is the Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX metropolitan area with nearly 6,000 jobs mostly within the organic and agricultural chemicals component of the sector.

While the map presented above highlights regions with highly concentrated/specialized employment (location quotient of 1.50 or greater), a generally “specialized” region will have a location quotient of 1.20 or greater—representing a concentration of regional jobs that is 20 percent more than the national average. Among 284 metropolitan statistical areas with at least some employment in agricultural feedstock and chemicals, 72 are considered to be specialized under this definition. Of these 72 with an employment specialization, 65 have a LQ that is 1.50 or above and are shown in the national subsector map.

Employment Size

While a majority of jobs in agricultural feedstock and chemicals are found within metropolitan areas, a significant share lie within rural, non-metro counties. This is not surprising given the nature of the agricultural component of the sector. The chemicals component of the subsector employs the majority of workers nationally, nearly 80 percent. Much of the metropolitan area employment in this industry is engaged in the production of organic and agricultural chemicals.

The 40 metropolitan areas with the largest number of agricultural bioscience jobs, together these regions account for more than half (55 percent) of national subsector employment. In general, the smaller, more agriculturally-focused areas tend to have this subsector account for the vast majority of all local bioscience jobs. Agricultural feedstock and Chemicals in Decatur for example, accounts for more than 90 percent of its total bioscience base. Subsector employment in Chicago, on the other hand, accounts for less than 7 percent of a more varied bioscience base. While this result is rather intuitive for smaller versus larger metro areas, this metric allows for interesting comparisons among different regions and acts as a reference for the degree of bioscience variety within a particular area.

Employment Concentration

Even without a large employment base, a metropolitan region can rely heavily on one industry if it is a relatively large share of all local jobs. Location quotients are a valuable metric in local area analysis in order to gauge this relative importance. The following three tables (combined as Table 5) present metro areas with the highest LQs in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector. Given the varying size of all metropolitan areas with some subsector employment, the analysis is separated into small, medium, and large metro areas based on overall private sector employment in the region.

Large and Specialized Metropolitan Areas

Four metropolitan statistical areas can be considered to have employment bases in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector that are both large and specialized . A region characterized as large and specialized meets two thresholds: an employment base in the subsector that meets or exceeds 2.0 percent of total U.S. subsector employment (large) and a location quotient that meets or exceeds 1.20 (specialized). These metropolitan areas have a significant presence and influence within the agricultural feedstock and chemicals industry.

Emerging Metropolitan Areas

The metropolitan statistical areas shown below meet the requirements of an “emerging” region in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector. Specifically, each has 2004 employment that is more than 500 but fewer than 5,000, and has experienced job growth of at least 20 percent during the 2001 to 2004 time period.

The biosciences are thriving in metropolitan areas of all sizes and geographic locales; from smaller, rural metros engaged in agricultural bioscience pursuits, to large metropolitan areas with active research and testing sectors partnering with drug and pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers. Indeed, more than half of the 361 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. have an employment specialization in at least one of the four bioscience subsectors.

While the bioscience sector yields opportunities for economic growth, it presents unique challenges for local areas competing for available R&D and venture funding, and for the supply of talented researchers and technical workers it requires. Skilled, well-educated bioscience workers are in demand, as evidenced by wages that continually exceed private sector averages, helping boost local economies. Regions must continue to promote their key niche characteristics whether they include a premier research institution, a desirable climate, or perhaps close proximity to available business capital, in order to attract and retain its base of technical talent and a growing base of firms.