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Unemployment Low For Ph.D. Scientists

Jobs: Physical scientists face greatest challenge

by Andrea Widener
September 22, 2014 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 92, Issue 38

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Credit: Source: NSF
Line graph showing unemployment rates for Ph.D. scientists and those in the physical sciences. A pie chart showing the employment rates of physical scientists with Ph.D.s.
Credit: Source: NSF

Doctoral-level scientists continue to fare well with an unemployment rate of 2.1%, far below the national average of 6.3% in 2013. However, physical scientists—including chemists, physicists, and geologists—continue to have the highest unemployment rate among science, engineering, and health grads with a Ph.D., at 2.7%, reports the National Science Foundation.

The falling number of academic jobs and difficulty in finding other work in physical science fields could be explanations for this situation, says NSF’s Daniel J. Foley.

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