An Analysis of Construction Spending
in the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry, 2019 – 2024
Introduction
The Institute for Construction Employment Research (ICERES) is a non-profit network of academic faculty and other scholars across the United States and Canada interested in conducting, collaborating on, and facilitating academic-quality research on construction labor issues. ICERES is committed to being an independent, non-partisan voice on labor market and public policy issues affecting the construction industry with the goal of finding and disseminating pragmatic solutions to problems affecting construction owners, developers, contractors and workers.
All data were provided by Industrial Information Resources (IIR), a global consulting firm specializing in market data on major power, energy, and industrial infrastructure projects in the U.S.
PILMA is a coalition of labor organizations and companies in the pharmaceutical industry that have joined forces to grow this important sector in our economy, create high-quality jobs, and promote medical innovations to cure disease.
At any point between 2019 and 2024, 1,048 major ($5M+) biopharmaceutical construction projects were privately funded and under construction for the 18 states studies. These projects represent $86.5 billion in infrastructure investment by the industry.
The report shows the biopharmaceutical industry required 136.3 million labor hours from construction workers on research, development, and manufacturing facilities across 14 trades. A conservative estimate of union construction work indicates that the biopharmaceutical industry required at least 65 million labor hours by union workers. This yields a minimum of $2.6 billion in union worker earnings in addition to tens of millions of dollars in funding for union health insurance and pension benefits.
America’s biopharmaceutical companies research and develop new treatments and cures that improve patient health while also contributing to U.S. economic health. By investing in new state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facilities and continually renovating, the sector employs high-skilled union labor to ensure the highest standards. This study quantifies union construction jobs supported by the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry from 2019 and 2024 across 18 states.
The report examined private-sector biopharmaceutical construction projects active at any time between 2019 and 2024 in 18 states. The states included in this report were selected by PILMA. The report relies extensively on data from Industrial Information Resources (IIR), a global consulting firm specializing in market data on major power, energy, and industrial infrastructure projects in the U.S. The study team identified major private-sector projects in each state and made estimates of total industry construction spending and labor demand based on IIR data. Projects that were co-developed with academic institutions, government (e.g. NIH), and hospital systems were not included in the analysis. The second part of the study integrated data from IIR and the U.S. Census Bureau to examine the economic impact of the partnership between the pharmaceutical and biotech industry and construction trades unions.
NATIONAL REPORT
In the 18 states selected for this study, Industrial Information Resources identified 1,048 major, privately-funded construction projects ($5+ million valuations) in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector that were active at any point between 2019 and 2024. Combined, these projects represent $86.5 billion in capital investment in these 18 states over a six-year period.
Private-sector investment in new pharmaceutical and biotech capital projects has substantial economic benefits extending beyond the industry itself. As estimated by Industrial Information Resources, this equated to 136.3 million construction labor hours across 18 trades between 2019 and 2024.
The results suggest that the pharmaceutical and biotech industry required a minimum of 65.0 million hours from union construction workers to build and renovate its facilities between 2019 and 2024.
The results indicate that the industry was responsible for at least $2.64 billion in union construction wages across the 18 states over the six-year period identified in this study. This was led by California and Massachusetts, where the pharmaceutical and biotech industry was responsible for over $500 million in wages to union construction workers in each state.
The private sector invested $67.9 billion on pharmaceutical and biotech construction projects between 2019 and 2024 in the 18 states identified by PILMA. This includes 1,050 major ($5+ million), privately funded construction projects active at any point in this six-year period, representing $87.4 billion in investment in research, development, and manufacturing facilities according to IIR data.
State Reports
PRESS RELEASE
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The U.S. biopharmaceutical industry and skilled union workers are driving a nationwide investment boom. Since 2019, more than $86 billion has been invested in research and manufacturing infrastructure, creating thousands of union jobs, millions of labor hours, and strong support for apprenticeship programs.