PhD unemployment rate in South Korea hits record high

(Dan Tri) - Korean authorities have just announced a shocking statistic. Accordingly, 3/10 Koreans who received a doctorate last year are unemployed.

The unemployment rate for PhDs under 30 is even close to 50%. The unemployment rate for PhDs in Korea is at a record high since Statistics Korea began collecting data in 2014.

The latest statistics show a shortage of jobs requiring high levels of education, as well as the increasingly severe impact of the labor market downturn on highly educated workers.

3/10 South Koreans who received their doctorate last year were unemployed (Illustration: KT).

Specifically, of the 10,442 people who received doctoral degrees in Korea last year, 70.4% found jobs, 26.6% could not find jobs, and 3% had not entered the labor market.

The unemployment rate of PhD graduates in Korea, including those who are unemployed and those who have not yet entered the labor market, has remained around 25% from 2014 (24.5%) to 2018 (25.9%). This figure increased to 29.3% in 2019 and reached a record high of 29.6% in 2024.

By age group, among the 537 South Koreans under 30 who received doctorates last year, 47.7 percent were unemployed, the highest rate in the history of the survey.

Unemployment rates also vary by field of study, with PhDs in arts and humanities having the highest unemployment rate at 40.1%. This is followed by majors such as natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, with an unemployment rate of 37.7%. Majors in social sciences, journalism and information studies have an unemployment rate of 33.1%.

In contrast, industries such as medicine and health care, education, business, management and law have relatively low unemployment rates.

This phenomenon shows the shortage of high-skilled, high-paying jobs for highly educated people. The labor market in Korea is in a slump due to pressure from economic fluctuations.

Currently, large companies in Korea prioritize recruiting experienced employees, instead of highly educated employees who are new to the labor market.

Currently, experts in Korea are concerned that the unemployment rate in the labor market in this country will continue to increase.

In 2023, a report by the Bank of Korea showed that the growing ability of artificial intelligence to perform tasks that require analytical, cognitive, and creative abilities will increase the risk of unemployment for workers, despite the fact that they are considered to be highly competent and have had high-income jobs.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/ti-le-tien-si-that-nghiep-tai-han-quoc-cao-ky-luc-20250304104132151.htm