The Collapse of the Econ PhD Job Market
4 hours ago
- #economics
- #academia
- #job-market
- The economics PhD job market is in severe decline, with job postings down 30% in three years.
- Tenure-track positions in academia are especially scarce, with only about 400 openings in 2025, a 35% drop from 2022.
- Demand for tenure-track jobs is rising, with 1,385 new economics PhDs in 2024 competing for those 400 positions.
- International candidates and previous cohorts further saturate the job market, making placement rates as low as 7% for fresh PhDs.
- Government and international organizations, traditional fallbacks for economists, are also cutting jobs due to hiring freezes and budget constraints.
- The tech industry, once a reliable employer, is reducing its hiring of economists due to automation and preference for data scientists.
- Four structural reasons for the decline: falling undergraduate enrollment in economics, demographic shifts, AI automation, and loss of trust in the profession.
- An economics PhD is now a high-risk gamble with poor odds, especially for those outside top-tier programs.
- The future may see more decentralized intellectual platforms like Substack as traditional academic paths dwindle.
- Radical changes, like coordinated reductions in PhD admissions, are suggested to prevent further market saturation.