PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), a company representing the leading research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the United States, has laid off 35,000 employees in the first half of 2010.

Despite the alarming number, the rate at which layoffs have occurred this year is 32% lower when compared to 2009. The pharmaceutical industry as a whole has laid off the second most number of employees this year, trailing only the government/non-profit sector. Comparing the 830 workers laid off in June with the 6,943 workers let go in May, the damage is ostensibly slowing down.