Are Pharmacist Salaries Going Down?

Q:  Chen, are pharmacist salaries going down?

A:  In any kind of job market, salaries are based on the value you provide and the market supply/demand.  Because the economy has led to a tighter pharmacist job market, it is a reality that 1) companies are experiencing budget cuts, 2) pharmacist layoffs lead to increased supply of pharmacists.

I have been waiting to respond to this question because I wanted to observe for a longer period what the pharmacist job market is experiencing and give you my first-hand perspective.  I have noticed that pharmacies may be less generous with relocation or sign-on bonuses, but I haven’t necessarily seen salaries decrease significantly.  There are hospitals that aren’t paying for pharmacists to travel to interview, because they are on smaller budgets than before.

Pharmacist salaries are stabilizing and don’t seem to be increasing as in previous years.  Don’t expect that you have as much negotiating room for salaries as previous years, because the competition is tough out there and there may be someone equally as qualified who will work for a salary that you may think it’s not enough.  I know an inpatient pharmacist who took a hiatus in her work for almost a year & is wanting to get back into hospital or home infusion.  She had an opportunity that she could get back into but she was out of touch with how the pharmacist job market has shifted, and felt that the salary was not competitive enough.  She is still out of a job months later because of this.

If you are a relief pharmacist, you may have noticed that temporary staffing needs have decreased in certain areas (partly because they are being filled by full-time pharmacists more readily in this job market).  The pharmacist staffing companies are experiencing a cut in what pharmacies are paying and I have seen some agencies decrease the amount they are paying pharmacists because expenses of the services & costs of doing business of an agency don’t decrease just because it’s a tighter job market.

Comment below (you can keep it anonymous if you wish) about what you’ve seen with salaries at your workplace.

I’ve included the National Results from the 2010 Spring Edition Pharmacist Salary Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.  *Keep in mind that there are absolutely variations geographically & you may be compensated differently due to the depth of role that you have.

2010 Pharmacy Compensation Survey – Spring Edition

National Results