University graduates’ job-education mismatches in the Spanish labour market

This paper focuses on educational mismatches in the Spanish labour market for recent university graduates. We analyse both horizontal mismatch and vertical mismatch, more specifically overqualification, considering subjective and objective indicators. The data used is the Labour Insertion Survey for Recent University Graduates, conducted by INE in 2014 and 2019. We analyse the determinants of mismatch at the first job after graduation and at the time of the interview, four years later. We also study the persistence of mismatches and the effect of the economic recession that started in 2008. Our results show the heterogeneity of mismatches across education fields. Individual characteristics, skills, study-related variables and job characteristics also determine the mismatch probability. We also find that graduates in 2014 not only experienced a lower probability of job-education mismatch than those graduated in 2010, but also the persistence was lower, so they had more chances of leaving out the mismatch