Early 2013 ACS Salary Survey numbers out: overall member unemployment down, salaries mixed

From this week's C&EN and Sophie Rovner, something that could not wait until tomorrow morning, i.e. the early numbers from the 2013 ACS Salary Survey (which surveys members for the month of March 2013):

Employment and salary trends in the U.S. chemistry enterprise reflect the moderate recovery under way in the economy as a whole, according to survey results reported this week by the American Chemical Society. Salaries for U.S. chemists have edged up 2.2% in 2013 compared with 2012, while unemployment has continued to fall, from 4.7% in 2011, to 4.2% in 2012, and 3.5% in 2013. 

...David Harwell, assistant director for career management at ACS, which publishes C&EN, cautions that the latest number might be affected by unemployed chemists who have given up on new job searches and thus are no longer counted in unemployment statistics. [snip]

...The ACS data show that “the higher your education level, the better off you tend to be,” Harwell says. Some 4.6% of chemists who hold a B.S. degree are unemployed and looking for a job, while 3.0% of those with a Ph.D. are out of work and looking. Similarly, the overall improvement in the median salary for chemists can be attributed entirely to a rise in pay for Ph.D.s, who saw a 1.4% boost over last year, the data show. Chemists who hold a bachelor’s degree actually suffered a 2.6% drop in median salary from 2012 to 2013.

More tomorrow. Check the whole article out.