While the economy shows significant job gains in the logistics area, graduate students with advanced degrees in the US are experiencing difficulties in finding relevant jobs. The December 2018 payroll report issued by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 276,000 to 6.3 million. The 1.3 million long-term unemployed accounted for about 1 in 5 of the unemployed.
A fair number of the unemployed includes graduates with two master’s degrees in the areas of engineering or supply chain management. Some are even working in entry level jobs which are significantly below their qualifications or talent. This raises questions on whether advanced degrees are losing their value when compared to relevant work experience.
While mature markets in Asia may experience similar situations, supply chain talent in developing economies continues to be in demand. For example, in 2019, Amazon is already planning to create 1,300 jobs in India to add on to its current 60,000 employees in the country.