@juillet - The real unemployment rate (overall and in addition to holders of a particular degree) is significantly higher than the BLS numbers. The official unemployment rate reported by BLS excludes people who have been unemployed for more than 18 months, people who cannot find employment commensurate with their skills or education and are underemployed or who leave the job market, part-time workers without benefits, and those whose unemployment insurance has expired. If BLS reported these numbers honestly, it would include all of those as well. The real unemployment rate across the board in the US is not 3.6%, but according to some estimates closer to 9-11%. The BLS has underreported the actual unemployment rate for many years. It is likely safe to say that the real unemployment rate for PhD holders is closer to 5-6% not 1.5%. The rate also widely varies with the particular field. Science and engineering PhDs likely have a lower unemployment rate than humanities/arts PhDs. I know several folks with PhDs in literature, history, English, etc., who cannot get a full time academic job and struggle as low paid adjuncts without any benefits, or are outright unemployed.