Immigrant overqualification: +25pp vs native-born at same education level (OECD 2023)
Across OECD countries, tertiary-educated immigrants are on average 25 percentage points more likely to hold a low-skill job than native-born workers with the same level of education; credential non-recognition and language barriers account for most of this qualification mismatch.
Primary source
Why this stat matters
This figure belongs to the geographic & immigrant outcomesvertical of JobCannon's ongoing review of hiring, AI, and career-outcome research. We track it because it is one of the few primary-source estimates with a published sample, methodology, or legal record. Cite the original source first; this page exists to make the figure easy to find and link to.
Related stats
- Non-English names: 11.3% vs 26.8% leadership callbacks (n>12K)Monash Business School / ANU correspondence audit — 2024
- 2M brain-wasted US immigrants; 29% vs 16% underemploymentMigration Policy Institute, Untapped Talent series — 2024
- Immigrant overqualification +27pp vs native-born (OECD 38 countries)OECD International Migration Outlook 2024 — 2024
- Remote work: 28% of US working days; hybrid workers +13% productive, -33% attrition (Stanford 2023)WFH Research / Bloom, Stanford SIEPR — 2023
Find your career fit
JobCannon assessments map your strengths to careers using primary-source research like this one. Free, no signup required.
Take the RIASEC Test