A significant share of highly educated workers in several European countries remain stuck in jobs that do not require their level of education, according to a new Eurostat-based infographic covering workers aged 20–64 across the European Union and neighbouring states. The data separate native-born workers from those born elsewhere and cover administrative roles, trade and services, machine operators, and care workers, offering a stark picture of labour-market mismatch inside the European regime’s claimed integration model.
Key Takeaways: Turkey records the highest overall share at 36%, followed by Spain at 34% and Greece at 31%. Among people born outside the EU, overqualification rises to 58% in Greece, 46% in Spain, 52% in Italy and 50% in Estonia. The lowest shares—below 25%—appear in the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Serbia, Luxembourg and Croatia.
The figures expose a widening gap between the EU regime’s promises of free movement and labour integration and the reality facing many qualified migrants. For years, officials have supposedly promoted credential recognition and inclusion, yet language requirements, bureaucratic delays, fragmented recognition procedures and discrimination continue to push degree-holders into low-skill work. The cost is not only personal: it weakens productivity, wastes skills and fuels social friction in countries that claim to need talented workers.
Country-level details make the mismatch even clearer. In Turkey, the overall figure is 36%, with native-born workers at 36%, non-EU-born at 38% and EU-born at 30%. In Spain, the share is 32% among native-born workers, 46% among those born outside the EU and 38% among people born in other EU countries. Greece records 31% among native-born workers and 58% among non-EU-born workers. Estonia and Italy show 18% and 19% for native-born workers respectively, but 50% and 52% for those born outside the EU. Czechia and Iceland report 12% among native-born workers and 45% and 43% among non-EU-born workers.
The EU regime has yet to announce binding measures to streamline qualification recognition or address the overqualification of migrant workers. Future Eurostat updates are likely to show whether the gap narrows, but current evidence suggests the problem is structural rather than temporary. Without tougher anti-discrimination enforcement, faster credential procedures and targeted language support, the European regime’s integration claims will remain difficult to verify in practice.
Source: kun.uz