In South Korea, the dream of a PhD is colliding with a harsh economic reality, as new figures reveal that nearly three out of 10 doctoral graduates are struggling to find work. According to a recent government survey involving 10,442 respondents who completed their degrees between August and February, 29.6 per cent of fresh PhD holders are now unemployed.
The figures mark the highest unemployment rate since the survey’s inception in 2014, when 24.5 per cent of new doctoral graduates faced a similar fate. Last year, the rate stood at 25.8 per cent, indicating a troubling upwards trend. The unemployment rate — combining the ratio of people failing to find a job and that of economically inactive people — remained in the mid-20 percent range from 2014 (24.5 percent) to 2018 (25.9 percent) but jumped to 29.3 percent in 2019 and reached a record high of 29.6 percent in 2024.
By age group, among the 537 respondents under 30 who earned a doctorate, 47.7 percent were unemployed — the highest rate recorded in the survey’s history. Unemployment rates also varied by field of study, with arts and humanities graduates experiencing the highest rate of 40.1 percent. This was followed by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics at 37.7 percent, and social sciences, journalism and information studies at 33.1 percent. In contrast, fields such as health and welfare, education, business, administration and law showed relatively lower unemployment rates.
This trend underscores the shortage of high-quality, well-paying jobs even for highly educated individuals. Korea’s job market has weakened due to increasing economic uncertainty, leading companies to prioritize hiring experienced workers over new jobseekers. Concerns are rising that the downturn could accelerate. In 2023, a report by the Bank of Korea stated, “Artificial intelligence’s ability to perform non-repetitive, cognitive analytical tasks suggests a higher risk of automation for high-skilled, high-income jobs.”
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