Data released today by the National Science Foundation show the recent economic recession had less effect on doctoral degree holders in science, engineering and health (SEH) fields than it did on the general population.
According to a new NSF report, the unemployment rate in October 2008 for SEH doctorate recipients was 1.7 percent, whereas the unemployment rate for the total U.S. labor force was 6.6 percent.
The report, "Unemployment Among Doctoral Scientists and Engineers Remained Below the National Average in 2008," was issued by NSF's Division of Science Resources Statistics.
The report found that about 752,000 individuals in the United States held SEH research doctoral degrees in 2008, an increase of 5.6 percent from 2006. Of this, 662,600 were employed or actively seeking work.
Unemployment rates ranged from 1 percent among SEH doctorate recipients in mathematics and statistics to 2.4 percent for those in the physical sciences.
As measured by the percentage unemployed, more recent recipients of doctorates did not differ significantly from those who received their doctorates before 2006.
Of those employed, female doctorate recipients made up 30.7 percent of all employed SEH doctorate holders in October 2008, up from 29.4 percent in April 2006.
In 2008, the labor force participation rate--that is, individuals actively employed or seeking employment--among SEH doctorate holders was 89.7 percent for women compared with 87.4 percent for men. Female SEH doctorate holders were less likely than their male counterparts to be employed full time, but were more likely to be employed part time.
The largest portion of employed SEH doctorate recipients, 41.4 percent, worked at four-year educational institutions in 2008. Private for-profit firms employed about 32.6 percent of the SEH doctoral workforce.
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National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov
Thanks to National Science Foundation for this article.
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In the current economic climate, this is somewhat comforting. However, these rates are probably masked by the number of doctoral scientists doing postdoctoral work. That job condition is "less than ideal", and is not a viable option for people who have moved beyond that point who may suddenly find themselves without a job.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with the 2012 budget and the proposed cuts. If the major extramural funding agencies (NIH, NSF, NIFA, DOD, DOE) see significant cuts, these numbers will likely increase as PIs find themselves with less available money.
That job condition is "less than ideal", and is not a viable option for people who have moved beyond that point who may suddenly find themselves without a job.
One of my profs from undergrad moved to Texas because his wife hated Illinois and he downgraded to a postdoc. It's doable, I guess. Didn't Obama say he wasn't cutting funding to any of the sciences?
Didn't Obama say he wasn't cutting funding to any of the sciences?
Any budget freeze will act as a defacto budget cut. Since inflation won't suddenly stop happening, that means people will wind up doing less with what they get. However, President Obama can say whatever he wants ... the budget isn't his to make (just propose). Congress will do whatever they want, regardless of the promises the President makes.