Recent Trends in Over-education by Immigration Status

The educational attainment of the Canadian population has been rising rapidly in recent decades. There is concern that educational expansion has outpaced demand, leading to an increased prevalence of over-education. Over-education is defined as educational qualification that exceeds what is required to adequately perform the job. This study uses census data to document the rising supply of university-educated workers by immigration status from 2001 to 2016. It further examines trends in over-education among university-educated workers who are recent immigrants (those who arrived in Canada 1 to 10 years before the census) and those who are Canadian-born youth (aged 25 to 34). For each population group, this study examines the extent to which the observed trend in over-education status is associated with changes in demographic characteristics and supply and demand factors.