We've always had an excess of PhD's. They're made to purpose for university instruction or research. But there are far more PhDs than appropriate jobs:
https://philip.greenspun.com/careers/
Scroll down to the graph under "Not So Very Serious Stuff".
https://philip.greenspun.com/careers/
Scroll down to the graph under "Not So Very Serious Stuff".
Innovation is hard, most ideas do not pan out, and most people aren't made for it. It really is a number's game: to stay competitive and innovative as a country you need enough people pushing against the frontier, including taking bets that are too risky for the private sector.