Pharmacy-Benefits

Now is a good time to be a pharmacist entering the job market or seeking a change of employment. More than 20,000 jobs were posted during the first quarter of 2025, compared to fewer than 19,000 during the same period the previous year, according to the latest Pharmacy Demand Report from the Pharmacy Workforce Center.

Demand was strong across the pharmacy sector. Retail pharmacy listings (9,661) led the way, followed by:

  • Clinical pharmacist (4,414);
  • Hospital pharmacist, (3,476);
  • Other pharmacist occupations (1,485); and
  • Pharmacy director (1,017).

Demand was strongest in the South, followed by the Midwest, West and East. The most-populous states and cities had the highest number of job postings. California led the way with 1,681 postings, followed by Texas (1,311), Florida (1,120), Pennsylvania (1,008) and New York (888). Puerto Rico (16), Hawaii (39), Wyoming (48), the District of Columbia (63) and Alaska (69) had the fewest job postings. The metropolitan areas with the highest number of job postings in the first quarter were New York-Newark, Boston and Chicago.

Demand was down slightly for pharmacy technicians in the first quarter, with 39,111 job postings, compared with 39,716 in the first quarter of 2024. Just as with pharmacy postings, the South led the way, followed by the Midwest, West and Northeast. Texas had the most job postings with 2,912) followed by California (2,765), Florida (2,488), Ohio (1,871) and New York (1,737). North Dakota (82) and the Wyoming (91) had the lowest number of job postings, while New York-Newark, Chicago and Dallas had the most.

The Pharmacy Workforce Center, a nonprofit corporation comprising nine national pharmacy professional organizations, conducts employment research to assess and follow trends for various career opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians on individual state, region and metropolitan area level. Meanwhile, in an April report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected continued solid demand.

“Employment of pharmacists is projected to grow 5% from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations,” it said. “About 14,200 openings for pharmacists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.”

The median pay for pharmacists in 2024 was $137,480 per year or $66.10 per hour, the bureau added.

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