Swedish PhD holders struggle to find academic jobs, data show

Higher education authority says only half succeed in building a career at university

PhD holders who want to keep working at a university after passing their doctoral examination face strong competition and struggle to shape their careers, according to the annual report of UKÄ, the Swedish higher education authority.

In 2021, approximately 1,320 postdocs were newly hired at universities—but 2,670 people in total obtained a PhD that year, the report said.