Credit: Public domain.
According to this year’s survey by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training 한국직업능력연구원, only 66.7% of South Korea’s 10,498 Ph.D. holders are either employed or currently have offers of employment. It is the highest rate of joblessness among doctorate holders since the survey began in 2014.
With South Korea’s lower birth rate translating to fewer college students, there have been fewer openings in higher education - and not enough demand for doctorates in industry to make up the difference. The market is particularly dire for new entrants: of the 569 people who earned their Ph.D.s over the past year, 51.1% were unemployed or had given up on searching for a job.
