Foreign Employees In Iceland Overqualified Compared To EU

According to a recent report by Eurostat, approximately 53% of foreign employees in Iceland are overqualified for their positions. Among Icelandic employees, the rate was about 11%. Compared to other countries within the European Union and European Economic Area, the proportion of overqualification among foreigners in Iceland is one of the highest, ranking fourth place. Greece leads the race with 69.6%, followed by Spain and Italy.

Non-EU citizens in the EU were almost twice as likely to be over-qualified than nationals for their jobs. The rate was approximately 40% for non-EU citizens and 31% for citizens of other EU countries. The overqualification rate for nationals was about 21%. Women were more likely to be overqualified than men.

In conversation with mbl.is, Directorate of Labour chief Unnur Sverrisdóttir mentioned that these results can be traced to jobs in the tourism industry. The sector has grown massively in recent years, offering jobs which require low qualifications.