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When Skills Are Specific: Labor Market Entry and Occupational Mismatch for Apprenticeship Graduates

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  • Eckardt, Dita

Abstract

Using administrative data on the largest group of German labor market entrants - graduates from an apprenticeship in a specific occupation - this paper studies the effect of entry conditions on occupational mismatch. Higher entry unemployment entails persistent earnings losses driven by full-time wage effects. Concurrently, occupational matching falls, accounting for 20% of the wage effect. A framework shows that mismatch can arise from cyclical training firm retention or occupation-specific shocks, which I confirm empirically using novel data on occupation-specific unemployment. The findings highlight that specific skills protect graduates from unemployment but may expose them to costly occupational mismatch.

Suggested Citation

  • Eckardt, Dita, 2026. "When Skills Are Specific: Labor Market Entry and Occupational Mismatch for Apprenticeship Graduates," CEPR Discussion Papers 21784, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21784
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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