PhD positions (at least in the UK) are similarly in demand: about 100 applications for 5 places. And, inspired by your calculation, it’s definitely not true that each person is applying to 20 places. I guess a lot of people just don’t get in. It does seem like a lot of people I know are genuinely struggling to find a job.
There are probably more than enough lower paying, lower prestige jobs on offer, but they don’t require academic qualifications and so university graduates feel they deserve better.
> There are probably more than enough lower paying, lower prestige jobs on offer, but they don’t require academic qualifications and so university graduates feel they deserve better.
There’s also the issue that people will get dismissed as “overqualified”.
There are probably more than enough lower paying, lower prestige jobs on offer, but they don’t require academic qualifications and so university graduates feel they deserve better.