Mis-match between education and employment : the impact on the earnings of workers in Canada

In this article we describe the main features of professional over-qualification in Canada, its scale and frequency and its impacts on workers' remuneration. Over-qualification of workers is a subject that has been widely discussed in the literature, which shows its significance as a phenomenon both for policy makers and for individuals. Data from the National Household Survey (NHS) of 2011 show that the percentage of workers in Canada who were over-qualified for their job was 26 % in 2011, almost the same rate as recorded in 2006. This overall rate varies significantly depending on the level of education (40 % among those with a bachelor's degree, and 18.3 % among those with a secondary school diploma) and on the area of study (49 % for history and 27 % for library science). In terms of incomes, over-qualified workers earn less than colleagues who have the same level of education but with jobs corresponding to their educational qualification level. At the same time, compared with workers who have the level of educational qualification normally required for their jobs, those with higher levels (in other words those who are over-qualified) earn more.