Slowdowns in corporate R&D are foreseen, which, experts reason, will cut employment potential for researchers in 1993
The 1993 employment outlook for scientists in industry is marginally optimistic, at best, according to various economic indicators and industry experts. With the exception of a few sectors that, as a result of sustained consumer demand, appear relatively recession-proof, such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, hiring will be tied to the sluggish recovery of the economy as a whole, they say.

But it is more than fallible macroeconomic forecasts that cloud the picture of industrial R&D in the near future, analysts say. Other factors include: a new, untested Democratic administration; the world's changing political map; and a shifting perception of just how much basic research, independent of market demands, corporations can afford to finance. All of these ingredients contribute to a puzzle that many analysts and industry insiders are finding difficult to...

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