Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
In many industrialized countries, a significant proportion of the workforce is overqualified for their jobs. This problem has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, most noticeably in economies with competitive labor markets. While it can certainly have positive effects for some companies, such as providing employees with higher-level training, it can also lead to higher salary expectations, lower job satisfaction, and a greater likelihood of employee turnover. The OECD definition of the overqualification rate is the proportion of highly skilled workers employed in occupations classified ISCO
More than a third of highly skilled immigrants in OECD countries are overqualified for their jobs, with the exact rate varying considerably from country to country. With the exception of Portugal, this proportion is particularly high across Southern Europe, where many highly skilled migrants hold low- and medium-level qualifications. This disparity is not limited to Southern Europe, as the following infographic illustrates.
Greece (60.7 percent), Spain (53.6 percent), and Italy (51.7 percent) are notable examples of southern European countries where the foreign-born population has a far higher rate of overqualification than the native population, whose rates are 32 percent, 36.9 percent, and 16.9 percent, respectively. South Korea has the highest rate of overqualification among its native workforce, and, even more interestingly, its foreign-born population has an even higher rate of overqualification at 74.5 percent. In the US and Mexico, both native and foreign-born workers are equally likely to be overqualified for their jobs.
In many developed countries, a considerable share of workers are overqualified for their jobs. The issue has become increasingly common in recent years, most evident in economies with competitive job markets. While it can of course result in positive effects for some organizations such as an employee performing at a higher level, it can also result in higher salary expectations, a lower level of satisfaction and a higher chance of a person leaving their job. The OECD definition of the overqualification rate is the share of the highly educated who are working in a job that is ISCO -classified as low or medium skilled.
Over a third of highly educated immigrants in employment across OECD countries are overqualified for their jobs with the exact rate differing significantly between countries. Excluding Portugal, that share is particularly high across Southern Europe where many highly educated migrants are in low and medium-skilled jobs. That disparity isn't just defined to Southern Europe as the following infographic shows.
Greece (60.7 percent), Spain (53.6 percent) and Italy (51.7 percent) are notable examples of Southern European countries where the foreign-born population has a far higher overqualification rate than the native-born population where the share is 32 percent, 36.9 percent and 16.9 percent respectively. South Korea has the highest share of overqualification among a native-born workforce and even more interestingly, its foreign-born population has an even greater share of overqualification at 74.5 percent. In the US and Mexico, native and foreign-born workers are equally likely to be too skilled for their jobs.
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