Abstract

We can find hidden skills potentials in the labor market where individuals perform activities that are below their formal qualification level. Then, their training or academic qualification is higher than the job requirements. The new classification of occupations (KldB 2010) allows us to use an objective measure of the formal fit between the individual qualification level and the level of requirement of the performed job. With this measure we can analyse the prevalence of formal overqualification in the German labor market and its consequences for affected workers.