Pharmaceutical Industry Employment Facts

• According to Statistics Canada, the major sectors of the industry are:
  • Technical sales specialists, wholesale trade
  • Chemists
  • Chemical plant machine operators, and applied chemical technologists and technicians
• Employment in the industry can be broken down into these broad categories:
  • Laboratory
  • Research and development
  • Manufacturing
  • Sales and marketing
  • Distribution and administration
• Employment in the industry is concentrated in the Toronto and Montreal areas. Ontario and Quebec account for approximately 90% of industry employment.
• The workforce is highly educated: 43% of employees have university degrees.
  
• While research scientists and analytical chemists are a critical component of the industry, salespeople/marketers are also essential to the success of a company.
  
• The workforce is evenly split between males and females.
• Throughout the decades, wages in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry increased faster than those of the Canadian manufacturing sector.
  
• In 1998, Canadian average salaries and wages for this sector totaled $44,283, substantially higher than the average for the entire manufacturing sector of $37,850.
• Supply problems exist with respect to expertise in regulatory and government affairs where there are no obvious sources of supply outside the industry.
• Total employment in the sector over the next five years is expected to grow, as pharmaceuticals continue to be increasingly popular health care solutions.