Effects of STEM Education on Unemployment Types: An Applied Science Case Study

Year 2026, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 248 - 269, 08.03.2026

Şemseddin Gündüz , Ahmet Tayfur Akcan , Bekir Yildirim , Hasan Kazak

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.26.28.13.2

https://izlik.org/JA26SA48LS

Abstract

Rapid technological transformation and digitalization have reshaped labor markets by changing skill demands and affecting various types of unemployment. In this context, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education has gained prominence as a means of equipping individuals with 21st-century skills and improving employability. This study investigates teachers’ perceptions of STEM education’s impact on different unemployment types. A total of 45 teachers were selected through criterion sampling, and data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed with inductive content analysis within a structured qualitative design. Findings indicate that teachers view STEM education as reducing multiple unemployment types, especially involuntary, frictional, cyclical, structural, hidden, technological, and seasonal unemployment, by enhancing qualified human capital, fostering interdisciplinary skills, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, and supporting adaptability and lifelong learning. However, participants noted its limited effect on natural and real wage unemployment. Expectations of higher wage demands and labor substitution by technology suggest STEM education may not significantly reduce voluntary or real wage unemployment and could even increase technological unemployment. Overall, STEM education is regarded as a strategic tool for improving employment outcomes, although its effectiveness depends on economic conditions and public policies, highlighting the need for future research using mixed methods and multiple stakeholders to better understand its relationship with labor market dynamics.

Keywords

STEM , unemployment , teacher , education

References

• Akcan, A. T., Yıldırım, B., Karataş, A. R., & Yılmaz, M. (2023). Teachers’ views on the effect of STEM education on the labor market. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1184730
• Alam, M. J., Reza, S. M. A., Ogawa, K., & Ahsan, A. H. M. (2024). Sustainable employment for vocational education and training graduates: The case of future skills matching in Bangladesh. International Journal of Training Research, 22(3), 266–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2024.2308224
• Amrahi Tabieh, A., Pashazadeh, F., Safaiyan, A., & Matlabi, H. (2025). Job skill training for re-employment of the older workers: A scoping review. Educational Gerontology, 51(3), 227–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2024.2392921
• Bacovic, M., Andrijasevic, Z., & Pejovic, B. (2022). STEM Education and growth in Europe. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 13(3), 2348–2371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00817-7
• Bai, S., & Tian, P. (2025). Educational robotics may enhance students’ conceptual knowledge, applied skills, and learning attitude in STEM education: A meta-analysis. Educational Technology & Society, 28(4), 274–303. https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202510_28(4).SP06
• Bansal, K., & Mathur, T. (2024). Impact of skills development on youth unemployment: A fractional-order mathematical model. Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences, 47(18), 14286–14303. https://doi.org/10.1002/mma.10272
• Billing, C., Bramley, G., Ioramashvili, C., Lynam, R., Zorrilla, M. C., Collinson, S., Humphreys, K., Kollydas, K., Pan, F., Pugh, A., Sevinc, D., & Yuan, P.-Y. (2023). The impact of university STEM assets: A systematic review of the empirical evidence. PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0287005. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287005
• Black, S. E., Muller, C., Spitz-Oener, A., He, Z., Hung, K., & Warren, J. R. (2021). The importance of STEM: High school knowledge, skills and occupations in an era of growing inequality. Research Policy, 50(7), 104249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104249
• Boyd, M., & Tian, S. (2018). Is STEM education portable? Country of education and the economic integration of STEM immigrants. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 19(4), 965–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-018-0570-4
• Brunow, S., Birkeneder, A., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2018). Creative and science oriented employees and firm-level innovation. Cities, 78, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.02.002
• Cech, E. A., & Blair-Loy, M. (2019). The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4182–4187. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810862116
• Chemli, S., Toanoglou, M., & Roman, J. L. D. V. (2024). Skills mismatch and digital skill shortages in tourism: Impact on graduate employment and implications for higher education. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 16(4), 447–465. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTEL.2024.141834
• Choudhury, P. K., Mallick, H., & Kumar, A. (2025). Vocational education, skill training and self-employment: Evidence from India’s non-farm sector. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 77(4), 912–938. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2024.2359369
• Cohen, J., Johnston, A. C., & Lindner, A. (2025). Skill Depreciation during Unemployment: Evidence from Panel Data. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 17(3), 208–235. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20230195
• Dogaru, M., Negreanu, M. C., Pisicǎ, O., & Pîrvu, A. F. (2025). STEM career: Essential factors for students to achieve success in STEM (supportive individuals, skills/abilities, motivational factors). Frontiers in Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1611178
• Flórez, L. A., & Gómez, L. (2024). The impact of skill mismatch on unemployment, informality, and labour turnover. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 35(4), 980–999. https://doi.org/10.1017/elr.2024.48
• Glass, J., Takasaki, K., Sassler, S., & Parker, E. (2023). Finding a job: An intersectional analysis of search strategies and outcomes among U.S. STEM graduates. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 83, 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2023.100758
• Green, C., & John, L. (2020). Should nursing be considered a STEM profession? Nursing Forum, 55(2), 205–210. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12417
• Gülen, S., Dönmez, İ., Şengönül, F. B., Aslantaş, M., Saritaş, T., Sukenari, Ö., Eke, E., & Uçar, S. (2025). The Effect of Robotics and Coding Education on Girls’ STEM Motivation, Attitude and Career Aspirations. Sage Open, 15(3), 21582440251382631. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251382631
• Hänni, M., & Kriesi, I. (2025). Unemployment Scarring in the Early Career: Do Skills and Labour Demand Matter? Social Inclusion, 13(0). https://doi.org/10.17645/si.9530
• Harrigan, J., Reshef, A., & Toubal, F. (2021). The march of the techies: Job polarization within and between firms. Research Policy, 50(7), 104008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104008
• Hongo, D. O., Li, F., Ssali, M. W., Nyaranga, M. S., Musamba, Z. M., Lusaka, B. N., Hongo, D. O., Li, F., Ssali, M. W., Nyaranga, M. S., Musamba, Z. M., & Lusaka, B. N. (2020). Inflation, unemployment and subjective wellbeing: Nonlinear and asymmetric influences of economic growth. National Accounting Review, 2(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.3934/NAR.2020001
• Ikhenaode, B. I., & Parello, C. P. (2020). Immigration and remittances in a two-country model of growth with labor market frictions. Economic Modelling, 93, 675–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2020.01.017
• Izzo, M. V., & Bauer, W. M. (2015). Universal design for learning: Enhancing achievement and employment of STEM students with disabilities. Universal Access in the Information Society, 14(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-013-0332-1
• Jumagaliyeva, A. (2024). Unveiling the Motivations of Female STEM Students in Kazakhstan. European Education, 56(3–4), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2024.2448818
• Kana, N., & Letaba, P. (2024). The reshaping of curriculum transformation to address the 21st-century skill sets and employment prospects during the Fourth Industrial Revolution era: A case of the South Africa TVET colleges. South African Journal of Higher Education, 38(2), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.20853/38-2-5854
• King Miller, B. A. (2017). Navigating STEM: Afro caribbean women overcoming barriers of gender and race. SAGE Open, 7(4), 2158244017742689. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017742689
• Knapton, D. (2019). Opinion piece: Ensuring an effective higher engineering provision for STEM engaged applicants. Higher Education Pedagogies, 4(1), 311–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2019.1664133
• Lawrence, J. H., Celis, S., Kim, H. S., Lipson, S. K., & Tong, X. (2014). To stay or not to stay: Retention of Asian international faculty in STEM fields. Higher Education, 67(5), 511–531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9658-0
• Li, Z.-Z., Su, C. W., & Tao, R. (2021). Does gender matter for the unemployment hysteresis effect among Asian countries? International Journal of Manpower, 42(8), 1527–1544. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-05-2019-0233
• Lin, Y., Iriti, J., Sherer, J. Z., Lowry, D., Matthis, C., & Legg, A. S. (2025). Building educators’ confidence and skill in improvement science: A longitudinal study of the STEM PUSH Network. Frontiers in Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1691044
• Liu, W. (2023). Preference for job diversity, mixed part-time jobs and voluntary unemployment. Australian Economic Papers, 62(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8454.12278
• Liu, Y. (2022). How structural is unemployment in the United States? Economic Inquiry, 60(3), 1258–1276. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13062
• Lysenko, T., & Wang, Q. (2023). College location and labor market outcomes for STEM graduates in the US. GeoJournal, 88(2), 1469–1491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-022-10700-w
• Martínez Oquendo, P., VanWyngaarden, K., & Cutucache, C. (2022). Lived experiences of former STEM undergraduate mentors of an afterschool mentoring program: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. The Qualitative Report, 27(10), 2157–2173. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5674
• Melguizo, T., & Wolniak, G. C. (2012). The earnings benefits of majoring in STEM fields among high achieving minority students. Research in Higher Education, 53(4), 383–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-011-9238-z
• Misra, A. K., Upadhayay, A., Kumari, M., & Maurya, J. (2025). Graph-theoretic approach and bifurcation analysis of skill acquisition and its effect on unemployment. Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 35(2), 023128. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0244559
• Mouton, M., & Rewitzky, I. M. (2025). Opportunity and outcome: A quantitative evaluation of the stem extended curriculum programme at a research-intensive university. South African Journal of Higher Education, 39(2), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.20853/39-2-5927
• Osei-Kofi, N., & Torres, L. E. (2015). College admissions viewbooks and the grammar of gender, race, and STEM. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 10(2), 527–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9656-2
• Özbek, G. (2025). Latent Profile Analysis of Computational Thinking Skills: Associations with Creative STEM Project Production. Education Sciences, 15(11), 1561. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15111561
• Özpir, H. C., & Yildirim, M. (2025). Investigation of the Effect of a Gamified, STEM-Supported Flipped Learning Model on Students’ Motivation and 21st-Century Skills. European Journal of Education, 60(4), e70231. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70231
• Panqueban, D., Córdova-Cornejo, V., Aviles-Henn, D., Diaz-Perdomo, Y. C., Ferrada, C., & Díaz-Levicoy, D. (2025). STEM activities in secondary education textbooks in Chile: Skills and levels of integration. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 20(3), em0840. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16571
• Piątkowski, M. J. (2020). Expectations and challenges in the labour market in the context of industrial revolution 4.0. The agglomeration method-based analysis for Poland and other EU member states. Sustainability, 12(13), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135437
• Piva, E., & Rovelli, P. (2022). Mind the gender gap: The impact of university education on the entrepreneurial entry of female and male STEM graduates. Small Business Economics, 59(1), 143–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00525-1
• Prat, G. (2015). Rueff, Allais, et le chômage d’équilibre [Rueff, Allais, and equilibrium unemployment] (EconomiX Working Paper No. 2015–30). EconomiX. https://ideas.repec.org/p/drm/wpaper/2015-30.html
• Redmond, P., & Gutke, H. (2020). STEMming the flow: Supporting females in STEM. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 18(2), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-019-09963-6
• Rizki, A., Ningsih, S., Ekasari, W. F., Putri, F. V., Aini, S. N., & Nowland, J. (2024). The impact of STEM CEO on investment efficiency: Evidence from Indonesia. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2429800. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2429800
• Rodríguez-Pose, A., & Lee, N. (2020). Hipsters vs. geeks? Creative workers, STEM and innovation in US cities. Cities, 100, 102653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102653
• Salzman, H., & Lieff Benderly, B. (2019). STEM performance and supply: Assessing the evidence for education policy. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28(1), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-018-9758-9
• Sánchez Carracedo, F., Soler, A., Martín, C., López, D., Ageno, A., Cabré, J., Garcia, J., Aranda, J., & Gibert, K. (2018). Competency maps: An effective model to integrate professional competencies across a STEM curriculum. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 27(5), 448–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-018-9735-3
• Sassler, S., Glass, J., Levitte, Y., & Michelmore, K. M. (2017). The missing women in STEM? Assessing gender differentials in the factors associated with transition to first jobs. Social Science Research, 63, 192–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.09.014
• Semtner, A., & Dzator, J. (2025). Soft skills, unemployment risk, and Australian economic downturns. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1017/elr.2025.10039
• Sheltzer, J. M., & Smith, J. C. (2014). Elite male faculty in the life sciences employ fewer women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(28), 10107–10112. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1403334111
• Smith, E., & White, P. (2019). Where do all the STEM graduates go? higher education, the labour market and career trajectories in the UK. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-018-9741-5
• Stiles-Clarke, L., & MacLeod, K. (2018). Linking STEM, oceans education, and career education in junior high schools. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 18(2), 114–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-018-0010-7
• Suárez‑Grimalt, L., Coco‑Prieto, A., & Simó‑Solsona, M. (2022). Doble invisibilidad: Los efectos del paro oculto en los colectivos vulnerables de población de los países del sur de Europa durante la pandemia del COVID‑19 [Double invisibility: The effects of hidden unemployment on vulnerable population groups in Southern European countries during the COVID‑19 pandemic]. Revista Española de Sociología, 31(4), a132. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2022.132
• Swanepoel, D. (2023). An Intergenerational justice approach to technological unemployment. Asian Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-023-00172-7
• Tolmie, D. (2025). An Australian Study of Transferable Music Skills: The Impact of Instrumental Music Education on Non-Music Employment. International Journal of Music Education, 02557614251393873. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614251393873
• Valverde-Rebaza, J., Rodrigues de Góes, F., Noguez, J., & Da Silva, N. C. (2025). Skill-based employment taxonomy in the global IT industry 5.0. Frontiers in Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1418184
• van den Hee, S. M., van Hooft, E. A. J., Van Hoye, G., & Nevicka, B. (2025). Unemployment in later life: The effects of a job search skills training intervention and development orientations on job search and reemployment of older job seekers. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001323
• VanHeuvelen, T., & Quadlin, N. (2021). Gender inequality in STEM employment and earnings at career entry: Evidence from millennial birth cohorts. Socius, 7, 23780231211064392. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231211064392
• Walker, K. A. (2018). Gender gap in professional entomology: Women are underrepresented in academia and the U.S. government. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 111(6), 355–362. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/say030
• Werum, R., Steidl, C., Harcey, S., & Absalon, J. (2020). Military service and STEM employment: Do veterans have an advantage? Social Science Research, 92, 102478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102478
• Wright, R., & Ellis, M. (2019). Where science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates move: Human capital, employment patterns, and interstate migration in the United States. Population, Space and Place, 25(4), e2224. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2224
• Wu, Q., Cheng, X., Wang, W., & Wang, C. (2025). Employment Skills Demand and Skill Premiums: What Engineering Graduates Does the Market Require? European Journal of Education, 60(3), e70195. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70195
• Xi, J., & McLean, S. (2025). Beyond Technical Skills: The Value of Perspective-Taking in STEM Education. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 24(2), es2. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-05-0089
• Xu, Y. (2015). Focusing on Women in STEM: A longitudinal examination of gender-based earning gap of college graduates. The Journal of Higher Education, 86(4), 489–523. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2015.0020
• Yang, H., Hu, L., Wang, H., & Xin, Y. (2025). Impact of Integrating Computational Thinking in STEM Education on Students’ Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 41(4), e70079. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.70079
• Yıldırım, B., Akcan, A. T., Öcal, E., & Öcal, E. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions and STEM teaching activities: onlıne Teacher professional development and employment. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 21(1), Continuous. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.84