2006:7 R

The establishment of those with postgraduate qualifications in the labour market

The main questions are: How large a proportion of those qualifying establish themselves in the labour market and what jobs do they get? What does the distribution of PhD´s in the public and private sectors look like? Which subject areas offer the best chances of establishment in the labour market?

This survey deals with 2003 and those who had been awarded PhD´s in 2000. These are the most recent figures available. Postgraduate students awarded licentiate degrees were not included in the study.

Of all those awarded PhD´s in 2000, 85 per cent had gained a footing in the Swedish labour market after three years. The difference between women and men was 6 percentage points, 81 per cent compared to 87 per cent. In time increasing numbers find employment. One year after the award of their degrees, 75 per cent were established. Among those awarded their PhD´s in 1993, 90 per cent were established ten years later.

The method used in this survey means that the proportion of those establishing themselves has probably been underestimated. The reason is that individuals with post-doctoral or other forms of scholarship are not included among those established in the Swedish labour market as they are not covered by the Swedish social insurance system.

Despite this underestimate, PhD´s gain a footing in the labour market relatively quickly. In an earlier report the National Agency for Higher Education has shown that there is a link between labour market establishment and educational qualifications. The more advanced the qualifications, the stronger the position in the labour market (National Agency for Higher Education report 2003:7 R).

PhD´s who establish themselves usually find posts as teachers in higher education. Many of them are probably carrying out research as well. Another relatively frequent position is as a specialist in the health and medical services. About 10 per cent of PhD´s work as engineers or architects. Together these form the three largest groups. Few practising psychologists have PhD´s.

Women become teachers in higher education more often than men, whereas the opposite applies to the health and medical services. The statistics also show that about 5 per cent of the women and 3 per cent of the men have jobs that normally only require a shorter period of study in higher education or upper-secondary qualifications.

Most of those awarded PhD´s in 2000 (49 per cent) were employed in the public sector three years later. In most cases higher education institutions belong to the public sector. The private sector employed 33 per cent of those with postgraduate qualifications. In addition to privately owned companies this sector also includes companies and organisations run by the local authorities. About 18 per cent of those with PhD´s were working for the local authority sector. Most hospitals are run by the county council sector, which is where most of those with degrees in medicine are employed.

There are differences in the rate of establishment depending on the higher education institution and the subject studied. The greatest proportion of those establishing themselves (92 per cent) can be found in the miscellaneous research areas in which the caring sciences are a large group. Natural sciences is the subject area with the lowest establishment ratio (77 per cent). The greatest difference between establishment rates for the various higher education institutions can also be found in the natural sciences. All of those with PhD´s in the natural sciences from Umeå University had established themselves in the Swedish labour market three years after the award of their degrees whereas Göteborg University had the lowest proportion (68 per cent).

Among those awarded PhD´s in 2000, 26 per cent had foreign backgrounds. PhD´s with foreign backgrounds have a lower rate of establishment in the Swedish labour market than those with Swedish backgrounds. The difference is 12 percentage units, 75 per cent compared with 87 per cent. The difference is greater for women (15 percentage points) than for men (10 percentage points). One explanation of these figures is partly that information is only available about what happens in the labour market in Sweden while many postgraduate students come to Sweden to take their PhD´s and then return to their native countries.

This is the first time that the National Agency for Higher Education has presented a report on the establishment of PhD´s in the labour market. The data come from the individual register maintained by Statistics Sweden called LISA (longitudinal integration database for health insurance and labour market studies) which contains information about education, income and occupation. Those considered as established in the labour market are individuals classified as employed in November in the year in question. They must also have earnings that exceed SEK 160,000. In addition there must be no record of their having been unemployed or participating in labour market policy measures during any part of the year.

The official at Statistics Sweden responsible for its participation in this survey was Stefan Vikenmark at its Forecast Institute.