Careers of Doctorate Holders: Analysis of Labour Market and Mobility Indicators

This paper presents an analysis of the labour market and mobility indicators generated by the second large-scale data collection on Careers of Doctorate Holders, a joint project by the OECD, UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Eurostat. There has been a steady increase in the number of doctoral degrees being awarded across the OECD and the evidence points to a sustained labour market premium of doctorate holders relative to other highly qualified individuals in 2009, prior to the potential impact of the economic crisis. Women and younger doctoral graduates, however, fare relatively worse in terms of employment rates, but these results are less marked than for lower degree holders. While temporary positions are increasingly common in academics, coinciding with the rise of postdoctoral positions, they are less so in business. Natural scientists and engineers are those who are more likely to be engaged in research, while social scientists find more opportunities in non-research occupations. Doctorate holders in the medical and health sciences are generally better paid. Earnings are also typically higher in the business sector than in other sectors, but there are exceptions. Job mobility patterns differ markedly across countries, with mobility being more frequent among doctorates not working in research. Oftentimes mobility from the business sector to the higher education sector is higher than the other way around. International mobility, as well as migration of doctoral graduates, have kept increasing over the decade.