Navigating employment and overeducation: comparative study of immigrant experiences in 17 Western European nations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The labor market integration of migrants, focusing on employment and job quality, differs notably across Southern and Continental-Northern European nations, often involving trade-offs. Nonetheless, little is known about whether these diverse migrant inclusion models in European labor markets extend to the combination of employment and overeducation. Additionally, the role of gender in this context remains unclear. While overeducation is more prevalent among immigrants compared to native, its prevalence varies across countries. To fill this gap, we analyzed data from the 2015–2019 European Labor Force Survey in 17 European countries, considering gender and migrant origin – Western vs. non-Western. Results show that non-Western migrants and migrant women face more challenges than Western migrants and male counterparts, respectively. Among males, a trade-off model predominates, with low employment penalties but high overeducation penalties in Mediterranean countries, and vice versa in Continental and some Nordic nations. For females, those in Southern Europe align with the Mediterranean trade-off model, while those in most Continental and Nordic countries experience a double penalty. In Liberal countries, male migrants tend toward the Mediterranean trade-off model, while female migrants align with the integration model.