According to the latest annual American Chemical Society survey of the salaries and employment status of its members in the domestic workforce, 3.6% of them were unemployed but seeking employment as of March 1 this year. This was a record high in the 30-plus-year history of the surveys, if only by 0.1% over the previous high in 2003. The percentage with full-time jobs reached an all-time low of 90.9%. Of the remainder, 3.6% were employed part time and 1.9% were on postdocs or fellowships.

The median base salary of all members with full-time jobs who responded to this year's survey questionnaire was $82,000. This was 2.5% higher than the $80,000 median for all those who responded to last year's survey.