Overqualification affects life outcomes for Swedish-born children of immigrants

Swedish-born individuals with immigration background face a greater risk than the majority population of working at jobs for which they are overqualified, according to a new doctoral thesis in sociological demography. This qualification mismatch can lead to detrimental career and health outcomes for this group, says Wooseong Kim, the researcher behind the study.

A person standing in front of an enlightened office building.

Photo: Mostphotos

Overqualification means that an individual has higher educational qualifications than their job requires. It is well known that overqualification is common among first generation immigrants, but it has been unclear whether this disadvantage extends to their children born in the destination country – the second generation. Wooseong Kim has found that although Swedish-born children of immigrants have better career outcomes than their parents, they still face greater challenges than the population without immigration background.

The thesis reveals that the second generation is more likely to be overqualified for their jobs. However, overqualification in this group does not necessarily lead to better-matched positions compared to staying unemployed. In fact, Swedish-born children of immigrants working in roles beneath their qualifications are prone to a greater risk of unemployment than those without immigration background.

“If you cannot guarantee the same returns to education for everyone, it has actually something to do with inequality. As my research finds out, if overqualification affects your career, your earnings and even your health outcomes, it might be related to later social inequalities and health inequalities between social groups”, says Wooseong Kim.

Wooseong Kim. Photo: Private.

Different mechanisms

Wooseong Kim argues that the mechanism behind overqualification is different for the second generation compared to the majority Swedish population without immigration background.

“For the majority population a mismatch might be temporary. But the second generation faces labour market discrimination.”

This is especially the case for individuals with background in non-European countries. Wooseong Kim explains that labour market discrimination has an impact on the affected person’s job searching behaviour. They widen their job search to maximise their chances of being employed, which naturally means that they apply for jobs that they are overqualified for.

“Discrimination doesn’t stop at the higher unemployment risk, but it actually affects the job searching behaviour and then it might lead to overqualification”, says Wooseong Kim.

Effects on mental health

Another finding shows that the second generation is more likely to experience decreased well-being. While the risk remains similar across all groups among the unemployed, employed individuals in the second generation are prone to poorer mental health.

“It is surprising that the differences are more pronounced among those who are employed. It implies that if we try to improve labour market positions of the second generation, from unemployment to employment, or from overqualification to adequate and matched employment, it might reduce an absolute prevalence of mental health problems, but inequality between them and the majority population remains. So, improving second generation’s labour market conditions may not solve the problem of mental health inequality”, says Wooseong Kim.

Outlook for the future

Overqualification’s detrimental influence on various life outcomes is the most important contribution to the field, according to Wooseong Kim. Although he believes that it is important to examine these challenges, in his further research, he would like to explore the more positive aspects of integration – a topic that has not yet been studied in Europe.

“I think we should also give attention to the immigrant’s agencies, how they deal with the problems and what the society can learn, because integration happens from two sides. It affects both the immigrants and the destination country, and they form the new society together. If there is something to learn from the immigrant experience, then why not?”