[Anchor]
Reporter, I understand it is becoming difficult to find a job these days, even with a PhD?
[Reporter]
While the number of people earning doctoral degrees has reached an all-time high, it turns out that one in three new PhD holders has yet to find employment.
Out of approximately 10,500 people who graduated last year, 67% found jobs, while 33% remained unemployed.
This marks the first time since the relevant data began to be tracked that the unemployment rate for PhD holders has exceeded 30%.
In particular, the figure rose by 3.7 percentage points from a year ago, marking the largest increase on record.
What is notable is the significant rise in the number of people who have stopped looking for work altogether.
The proportion of the inactive population, which refers to those not actively seeking employment, nearly doubled from 3% to 5.6%.
This suggests that many are giving up or delaying their job search because finding a position is so difficult.
The primary reason is that there are simply not enough jobs to accommodate these PhD holders.
Universities, which are the largest employers of PhDs, are trending toward reducing full-time faculty while increasing non-tenure track positions, such as part-time lecturers, due to a decline in student enrollment.
Government-funded research institutes and R&D departments at major corporations are also failing to create jobs fast enough to absorb the influx of new PhD graduates.
Ultimately, this data reveals a structural problem where the rate of producing PhDs is outpacing the creation of quality jobs.
[Anchor]
The youth employment situation seems very serious.
[Reporter]
That is correct. The unemployment rate for PhD holders under the age of 30 has surpassed half, reaching 51.1%.
This is the highest level on record.
As employment becomes more difficult, the number of young PhD holders who have stopped searching for jobs has also surged.
The proportion of the inactive population in this group jumped significantly from 2.6% to 7.9%.
Experts believe that young PhD holders entering the job market for the first time are facing greater difficulties than those who already have experience.
The recent contraction of the youth labor market appears to be a contributing factor as well.
The youth employment rate has been on a downward trend for 25 consecutive months, and the Bank of Korea has analyzed that youth employment in sectors such as computer programming, information services, and professional services has declined following the spread of artificial intelligence.
This suggests that the trend of AI replacing some entry-level positions is also having an impact.
Even those who succeeded in finding employment did not all receive the same treatment.
By field of study, those in business, administration, and law had the highest proportion of individuals earning an annual salary of 100 million won or more at 29.8%, while those in arts and humanities stood at only 3.7%.
There was also a gender gap.
The unemployment rate was higher for women than for men, and the proportion of individuals earning over 100 million won annually was more than twice as high for men as it was for women.
[Friendly Economy] One in Three PhDs is Unemployed... Rise in Those Giving Up Job Search (June 30, 2026)
Reported by Han Ji-yeon | Written by Kim Da-yeon | Produced by SBS Digital News
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.