Among those who earned doctorates last year, the share of "unemployed" was tallied at 33.3%. It was the first time the figure topped 30% since the survey began in 2014, a result seen as stemming from a failure to create enough quality jobs compared with the increase in doctorate recipients.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 29th, a survey of new domestic doctorate recipients in 2025 found that among 10,498 respondents, the share of the unemployed who could not find a job after earning their degrees was 27.7%, and the share of those not in the labor force who were not seeking work was 5.6%, bringing the overall jobless rate to this level.
The share of unemployed new Ph.D. holders hovered in the mid-20% range at 25.9% through 2018, but it surged to 29.3% in 2019 and has stayed around that level. Then last year, with the largest increase in unemployed new Ph.D.s (up 3.7 percentage points), the data showed that one in three was unemployed.
The share of those not in the labor force rose sharply among them. The not-in-the-labor-force share was 3.0% in 2024 but posted a 2.6 percentage point growth rate last year. Over the same period, the share of the unemployed edged up from 26.6% by only 1.1 percentage points.
Analysts say this is because there has not been sufficient growth in quality "Ph.D.-level" positions such as tenured faculty, regular positions at government grants research institutes, and regular research and development (R&D) roles at large companies. According to last year's basic education statistics from the Ministry of Education, the number of full-time faculty at higher education institutions such as universities, junior colleges, and graduate schools was 86,701, down 0.7% from a year earlier.
This situation affected young new Ph.D. holders more. Among 569 respondents under 30 who earned their doctorates last year, the share of the unemployed was 51.1%, the largest since the survey began. Among doctorate recipients under 30, those not in the labor force rose from 2.6% in 2024 to 7.9% last year.
Among respondents, the largest group, ages 30–34 (3,836 people), also posted the highest share of unemployed at 44.2% since the statistics were first compiled. Other age groups likewise hit a record high share of unemployed since the survey began. By age, the figures were 35–39 at 32.8%, 50 and older at 22.7%, 40–44 at 22.1%, and 45–49 at 16.6%.